A Woman in the Ranks
by explorer1996
Summary: Easy Company's new field nurse has the ambition to help the best the army has to offer. It is easy to tell what a person thinks of her, except for one. Speirs/OC (Awful at summaries but please read!)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they? **

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think!**

_**1942, Camp Toccoa, Georgia**_

"You are Easy's new field nurse?" Sobel inquires sharply, acting if this was all a joke. He glanced over my form with his beady black eyes. We were stood outside CO headquarters at Camp Toccoa.

I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin. "Yes sir, Pvt, Katie Millard." I replied.

I had trained and prepared for this day for a little over three years. Two years of training and then a year stuck in a hospital in London looking after evacuated soldiers and the wounded from bombings when I really wanted to be in the thick of it with a company. And now here I was dressed in my official uniform of a skirt, shirt, tie and blazer feeling amazing and I was not going to let this arsehole ruin in. I knew it was going to be hard to be accepted but I was here for a reason, because I was the best who wanted to help the best.

He looked down at the letter that was written by Colonel Sink who had been too busy to come see Sobel himself. "It says here you will be completing training with Easy before following us into combat. This cannot be correct."

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. "Permission to speak sir?"

He stared at me a while before granting permission.

"I am the only nurse who is trained to my level, with experience who has been allowed to join a company. This is because the army think I can handle it, because I am the best nurse you can get who is able to be there when needed. Not to be disrespectful, sir, but there is no mistake." My voice was firm and had a tinge of annoyance to it.

Sobel's eyes bulged at what I had said. He proceeded to stare my down, probably in an attempt to intimidate me but nothing about this man was intimidating. His eyes flickered behind me.

"Lieutenant Winters." Sobel called.

A tall, thin man appeared next to me with a red hair and a kind face. He saluted to Sobel. "Yes, sir."

"Take Pvt Millard here and get her the correct uniform of a soldier, her current attire is unacceptable for training." I suppressed a huff, it wasn't my decision to make a nurses uniform consist of a skirt. "Also make sure she gets a PT kit as she will be joining the men after lunch in the exercises. Then take her to barracks, she will be stationed in 14. Introduce her to the men."

"Yes, sir." Winters saluted and so did I as we turned to leave.

"Pvt Millard." I heard behind me so I turned to look at Sobel again.

"Sir?"

He looked me up and down again with a smirk. "Do not be a distraction to my men because there will be consequences." He threatened.

I nodded. "I don't think that will be a problem, sir." I assured. He nodded and turned to leave as I followed Winters.

Despite the men being starved of female company, I wasn't a woman that men threw themselves at. I wasn't saying I was ugly just not that type of girl. First off, my red curly hair never resembled the sleek waves women went for and it was too wild to force into a dainty hairstyle so was left to lie on my shoulders in clustered heap of mass curls. My eyes were a pretty grey colour and my lips plump and pouty but these features were detracted from by my nose which was slightly crooked after being broken a couple of times from rough play as a child and had too many freckles to be considered cute. I was above average in height at 5"7 with my breast, hips and bum being slightly too generous to make me look delicate. I was also not girly or giggly favouring being brash, sarcastic and sassy.

"We weren't introduced properly before, I'm Richard Winters, please to meet you ma'am." His soft voice was calming as he held his hand out for me to shake.

I took his hand in mine. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Katie Millard." I smiled broadly at him. "And please don't ever call me ma'am again."

A small smile graced his lips. "Dually noted." We continued to walk. "You're British aren't you?" He asked.

I smiled, thinking of good old England. "Yes, I'm a long way from home."

"That you are. What brings you to America?"

"I'm Easy's new nurse. I was scouted back in London while I was working in a hospital which was a weird experience. With a low supply on medics they were scouting for people and apparently I fit the bill." I explained, looking around as we walked. There were hardly any men about but from what Sobel said I guessed they were all in the mess hall.

He nodded his head looking intrigued. "You must be the best if they are letting a woman join a company."

I laughed. "That I am and am hoping to work with best."

We stopped in front of a wooden hut. "This is the supply barracks."

I nodded as we entered. Every wall was covered in supplied from clothing to K rations. Winters started piling supplies onto a counter. "I'm sorry if the clothes don't fit well." He apologised.

"From what I've saw in the past they don't fit anyone well." I joked, piling the supplies into my arms.

Winters huffed a laugh before taking half the pile from me which I thanked him for. "Do you have any luggage with you?"

I shook my head. "Sink said they will send a pack in a couple of days with things that the army deem a necessity for a woman in war as well as a few things I brought from home."

He nodded and we chatted during out walk to the barracks. I found I liked Winters and while he seemed slightly quiet, he made me laugh a few times and me him. He led me in and pointed to the only bed that was empty. It was in the middle of the room with beds surrounding it. The barracks had a smell of man to it, it wasn't unpleasant just odd seeing as I was a girl and would be living here.

"Is it going to be uncomfortable for you to bunk with men?" Winters asked slightly apprehensively.

I looked around. "Well, it will be strange to begin with but I'm sure it will be fine in the end. I'm a nurse, I've seen everything there is to see 10 times over." I joked to reassure him slightly.

He huffed a laugh again. "Are you nervous to meet the men?"

I sat on my bed. "A bit." I answered honestly. "I don't know how they will take a woman who is a Brit joining their ranks."

Winters motioned to my bed, asking silently if he could sit. I nodded and he sat next to be. "I've know these men a little over a year and they are good men. Yes, you'll have to win some over but as long as you prove yourself to be useful they will accept you in no time." He reassured.

I looked up and smiled at him feeling I had found a true friend already. "Thank you."

He smiled lightly before patting me on the back. "I'll leave you to settle in and get changed. The men will be here in about twenty minutes so I'll be back before then to introduce you."

I nodded and said good bye as he left. I put away my new army clothes and changed out of my uniform, putting that away as well. While I did this I thought of the adventure I was about to take on. Living with men, lots of men until either the war was over or killed or I was kicked out for some reason, dropping into occupied war zones to aide them in battle. It was exciting, daring and a bloody stupid thing to do. I couldn't wait.

I put on my PT gear and before putting on my boots on, I stood up to look at the kit which was made up of a t-shirt with a paratrooper on and the words 'Camp Toccoa: Paratroopers.' There was a problem with it. On a man of my height the shorts would have been an acceptable length but on me they were showing far too much thigh and was tight across my bum, showcasing it to anyone who cared to look. The t-shirt was also tight across my breasts, making them stand out as well.

I sighed knowing nothing could be done about it, this was standard issue clothing, and sat back on my bed to put on my boots. I was just finishing tying them when the door swung open and multiple, loud voices filled the room. I flipped my hair back as I looked up which caught one of their attentions.

He looked stunned before he hit his noisy friend to grab his attention to look at me. One by one they all stopped talking to stare. All that was going through my head was how awkward this was.

I stood up, rubbing my hands on my shorts nervously. I smiled before saying "Hello."

They all continued to stare before the guy who had noticed me first spoke. "And what the hell are you doing in our barracks?" he asked. He was handsome, with a strong jaw, dark hair, dark eyes and broad shoulders. His accent was different and from my experiences in London I guessed he was from Philadelphia.

I stepped forward to stand in the valley between the two lines of beds "I'm Easy's new nurse, Katie Millard." I explained simply.

Their eyes seemed to widen further when they twigged my accent. A couple of them were taking in my form in the Pt gear with slight smirks at what they saw, I must have looked ridiculous. I felt myself blush before I sighed heavily. "Yes, I get it's a shock that I'm a female and that I'm British but would you please stop staring."

The first guy stepped up extending his hand. He was only taller than me by like an inch or so. "I'm Bill Guarnere, nice to meet you." I took his hand and he smiled warmly.

"Gonorrhoea?" I joked. There were some chuckles from the rest of the men.

His smile widened. "Alright, smart-ass, you'll fit in." He tugged me under his arm. "Hey guys come meet my new buddy."

With that a brave few ventured forward to introduce themselves.

A man with kind eyes that held humour stepped forward. "Hello, pretty lady. I'm George Luz." Instead of shaking my hand he pulled me in for a hug which I returned.

"Get off her Luz, for God's sake." A deep, raspy voice said and Luz was pulled from me. "Joy Toye." He said simply, taking my hand in his to shake. I smiled at him but didn't have chance to reply before the next man was saying hello. I met Frank Perconte, Donald Malarkey, Floyd Talbert, Charles Grant, Joe Leibgott, Donald Hoobler, Burton Christenson and Warren Muck. There were a few others but they kept their distance, choosing instead to start removing their uniform to reveal their PT gear underneath.

I smiled and sat back down on my bed to rearrange my laces to make them more comfortable.

"Now aren't you all jealous." I turned to look at Luz who was undressing next to my bed. "I get to sleep next to the Duchess." He winked at my suggestively before smiling brightly while some of the men chuckled.

"In your dreams Luz." This caused Guarnere, whose bed was on the other side of me, to laugh loudly before slapping me on the back.

"I like you already." He told me.

"So have you met Sobel yet?" Christenson asked a couple of beds down.

"Yeah." I must have made a face because some of them chuckled.

"We know how you feel." Perconte murmured.

"Is he that much of an arse all the time?" I asked the room. Everyone said yes which made me smile.

"Seeing as you're not threatening to kill him I'd say you got the tip of the iceberg." Malarkey added.

"And by the way sweetheart its ass not arse." Guarnere told me as he lounged on his bed, taking a cigarette from behind his ears and lighting it.

I tutted. "Americans." I said derisively.

The door was pushed open again and Winters walked in. We all stood and saluted but he told us to be at ease almost immediately. He looked around at the men and then to me, giving me an apologetic smile that he didn't make it back on time to introduce me. I shook my head at him, telling him it was all fine.

"Right, everyone PT in two minutes. Let's move, let's move." He yelled, clapping his hands at the last bit. Everyone surged towards the door. I ran alongside the men with Bill and Luz either side of me.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they? **

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think!**

* * *

_"Right, everyone PT in two minutes. Let's move, let's move." He yelled, clapping his hands at the last bit. Everyone surged towards the door. I ran alongside the men with Bill and Luz either side of me._

* * *

There was a collection of men already congregated as we joined them. Everyone greeted one another and I attempted to stay back. I say attempted because someone brought all the attention on me.

"Well, lookee here boys. Someone seems to have got lost." I heard behind me in a deep Southern accent. I turned, and looked up and then continued to look up when I realised how tall the man was.

I felt an arm thrown over my shoulder. I looked to my left to see it was Talbert. "Nah, she ain't lost Bull, this is Easy's new nurse." He pulled me to his side and I smiled. They really were all nice.

"But you're a girl." I heard bitterly spat out from Bull's left. Maybe not all nice then. I looked to see a weaseley looking man who I instantly disliked.

I looked down at myself dramatically and gasped. "I am. Shit, I best get back to the kitchens." I looked at him firmly while anyone who was paying attention chuckled.

Bull stuck his hand out. "Denver Randleman, everyone calls me Bull." I put my hand in his which he squeezed gently.

"Katie Millard." I replied as I tried to tame my hair into a bun after returning his hand shake.

"Attention!" Was yelled across the field and everyone feel into line. I found myself in between Bill and Toye with Bull behind me and Luz in front. We all saluted until Sobel returned it and told us to be at ease.

"I'll get this announcement over with." He paced in front of the group. "There is a new nurse in Easy, Pvt Katie Millard. She will be training with us and then jumping with Easy when the time comes." He stopped in a position to stare my down. "If she is a distraction to you men, she will no longer be in Easy company, understood?"

There was a ring of "yes, sir" around me which I joined in with. Sobel continued to glare at me and I got a feeling that if I put a toe out of line, I was out.

Sobel suddenly turned away and continued to pace. "Lieutenant Winters will be taking you through PT today. Once that is finished you have the night off in preparation for tomorrow's inspection." With that he turned and left with Winters taking his place at the front.

"Right, let's begin." Winters called and started to take us through simple exercises such as star jumps, press ups, sit ups etc.

After about 15 minutes I started to get slightly out of breath along with some of the other men.

"You sure you can keep up duchess?" Toye asked gruffly but I could tell he was joking.

"I could do this all day." I replied changing to do press ups again. "And don't call me Duchess."

I heard some laughter. "It fits your accent." Luz said from in front of me.

"I'm not even posh." Confusion was evident in my voice.

"Well it's either that or princess, take your pick." Bill told me as we switched exercises again. I didn't reply as I was trying to regain my breath.

"You know what, this is greatly unfair." Luz complained.

"What is?" Bill asked.

"Well, you and Toye get to sneak a peek from the side and Bull gets the full view from behind. I get nothing."

I was confused. "Huh?"

Bill laughed. "He's on about you sweet cheeks." He explained. My face must have registered shock because Bill and Toye laughed.

"Can you blame him?" Toye asked, leaning back to jokingly look at my bum, well I hoped he was joking.

"Hey, keep your eyes, mind and conversation off my bum." I told them as I touched elbows to knees.

Again there were titters of laughter. I flushed but it would have been hard to tell due to me already being red from exertion.

"Well I'll keep my eyes, mind and conversation off your 'bum' if you do the same for my 'bum'." Luz told me, putting air quotes around the word 'bum'.

I smirked but managed to keep my laughter in. "I'll try Luz, but it will be hard." I joked keeping my voice serious.

"Right everyone take a break and then we'll do the assault course." Winters ordered.

I bent over with my hands resting on my knees, trying to catch my breath. "Ok, I should have do more cardio back in London." I mumbled to myself. I stood back up to see a slight swarm of Easy men around me.

A handsome man stepped up to me first. "David Webster, nice to meet you ma'am."

I looked up at him. "Don't call me ma'am." I pleaded.

Liebgott was next to me and nudged me in the shoulder. "Yeah don't call her ma'am, her title is Duchess." He said is a snarky voice (which I assumed was his tone of humour) earning a glare from me.

"Don't call me Duchess." I told him sternly.

This only cause him to smirk. "Come on, you've gotta meet Doc Roe." He tugged on my arm until I followed him to a man that I shouldn't call cute but he just was.

"Doc, this is your new nurse." Liebgott told him.

I held out my hand and smiled. "Katie Millard."

He stared at my hand. "So you're here to replace me." His Cajun accent floated over me and lessened the blow of him refusing to shake my hand.

Liebgott look slightly stunned at Doc's reaction suggesting he was never anything other than mild mannered. "Hey…" he started to defend me but I put a hand on his shoulder to top him.

"I'm not here to replace you, I'm here to assist and help you." I told him sincerely hoping that he would believe me.

He stood looking into my eyes before holding out his hand. "Eugene Roe, called Gene by most." I took his hand and shook it. "Sorry about that ma'am, I just like my position and want to keep it"

I nodded. "That's fine as long as you don't call me ma'am again." Liebgott went to open his mouth. "And don't you go telling him to call me anything but my name, or I will leaving you bleeding at some point." I told him with a smile.

This caused him to grin. "A twisted sense of humour, a girl after my own heart." He clutched his hand to his heart.

"Everyone over here." Winters called from a while away. I turned and jogged over to him with Liebgott and Gene on my tail.

"Sobel wants you all through this obstacle in under 15 minutes so really push yourselves today." Winters told us encouragingly.

I looked to Gene. "How long does it usually take you to get through the course?" I asked, hoping he was going to say something close to 15 minutes.

"Usually about 19 to 22 minutes." He told me.

"I'm fucked." I exclaimed.

I heard a chuckle in front of me and when the man turned I saw it was Guarnere. "So the good lady swears."

"Yes, she does when she's utterly fucked." I reiterated.

A man next to Guarnere who I hadn't met turned round and leered at me. "You will be if you come to my barracks tonight."

Guarnere looked at the man like he was going to punch him and Liebgott tensed next to me. I gagged theatrically, ready to make a retort when someone reached over my head and pushed the man on the side of the face, hard.

"Respect the lady, boy or you will regret it." I recognised the voice as Bull's and turned to look at him. He had an intimidating look on his face that made the man mumble an apology and then turn back around. Bull looked down at me, nodded his head once and began to talk to Gene about something.

Liebgott nudged me. "You're not fucked, we'll all help you." He told me.

"No, no no. None of you can help me more than you would help anyone else. I need to prove I can do this or I'm out." I stared until they nodded their head in agreement. "I'm probably exaggerating. I've done obstacle courses, I just did them a while ago." I was saying this more to myself than anyone else, to psyche myself up, to believe in myself.

We were told to organise ourselves in lines of eight and we would set off one line after the other. I ended up on the end of the line with a grinning Luz next to me. Winters was on my other side.

"Just try your hardest." He told me. "There is usually some injuries at the end so keep that in mind."

He was playing to my nurse instincts because I instantly wanted to get to the end as soon as possible to help those in need. I felt my face harden and I nodded. The whistle was blown and I was off.

I managed it through half of the course without an issue with the shouts of encouragements from my new found friends egging me on. As I was crawling my way through mud I caught sight of Guarnere who gave me a big smile and a thumbs up.

Issues came when I got to the wall. And I don't mean the theoretical wall of when your body can't take any more, I mean a literal wall that I had to haul myself over. I watched two men go over, using the memento from their run, to run up it two steps to grab the top and then pull themselves over. I had seen people help each other over but I was stubborn and wanted to do it myself.

I took three steps back and ran at the wall completing the two steps and grabbing the top. However my lack of upper body strength meant I fell pathetically back to the ground. I groaned to myself. I felt a hand grab my upper arm and pull me up. I looked up to see it was Joe Toye who gave me as close to a smile as I thought I was ever going to get from him, a slight switch at the corner of his mouth.

He clambered his way up the wall but sat at the top. "Take your run up again and I'll grab you." He told me.

I looked at him, annoyed I couldn't do it myself. "I want to do it myself."

"The longer you make me wait to help you the slower my time is so hurry up. I'm not going on without you." His voice was shockingly stern but I still wavered. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, a lot of men can't get over the wall the first time or even the second time."

It was true and I needed to stop being stubborn. I took a few steps back and ran at the wall, taking the steps up need to grab the top. The moment my hands grabbed the ledge, Joe grabbed my wrists and instructed me to walk up the wall. I did as I was told a reached the top. We jumped off the other side together and ran to the end. Where soldiers who were timing us were waiting.

"Names and numbers?" One of them asked with a clipboard. We rattled them off and he wrote them down.

"Pvt Millard and Pvt Toye 16 minutes 57 seconds."

I kicked the ground in frustration before falling to it like a sack of potatoes panting for breathe while I lay on the floor.

"Thank you." I panted out. Joe had come to sit next to me with his knees pulled up, tearing a blade of grass.

"What?" He asked. He couldn't understand me cause of my breathing.

I rolled over onto my front and looked at him. "Thank you for helping me over the wall. You probably would have made it if it wasn't for me." I told him, feeling guilty.

He shrugged. "Never leave a man behind." He looked at me so I smiled.

"Well, thank you." I said again.

"Yeah you said that. Oi, what the hell took you so long?!" He yelled.

I twisted to see who he was yelling at. It was Guarnere and Luz.

"Well, I had a meeting to attend to half way round." Luz joked, falling to the floor next to me. "Oh, nurse I think I need CPR." He cried dramatically.

I shuffled over to him, still lying on my stomach until my face hovered over his. He seemed surprised but stayed still. I looked over his face for a couple of seconds before tapping his sharply on the face a couple of times. "Nope, your fine." I rolled onto my back and then onto my feet hearing Guarnere and Joe laugh.

"You're a cruel woman, Katie, a cruel woman." I blew him a kiss before turning to walk away.

"Hey, where you going?" Liebgott asked as he joined the other three.

I started to walk backwards so I could look at him. "Nursing duties." I shouted back before walking away.

I spotted Gene talking to another soldier so went up to him. He looked at me and gave a small smile. "You okay, _ma_ _cherie?" _

I blushed a little at him. "Just wondering if you know if anyone needs help?"

"Christenson has got cut by the barbed wire that is now covered in mud and Martin has a sprained wrist." He told me.

I nodded. "Ok which one do you want to deal with?" I enquired.

"I'll sort out the sprain, you do the cuts." I nodded taking the aide pack he was holding out to me.

"Right, point me in the direction of Christenson." I said scanning the hoard of men around me.

"He was with Bull and Perconte last time I saw him."

I looked around and saw who I was looking for. I turned to Gene and smiled my goodbye before heading off in the right direction.

"Christenson?" I asked as I approached. I recognised him from my barracks but just wanted to double check.

"Oh the Duchess is gracing us with her presence." He joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Continue like that and I'll let your cuts fester." I warned before crouching next to him. "Hey Frank, Bull." I greeted the other two men. Frank mock saluted me while Bull nodded.

"Where are the cuts?" I asked.

"My back and then the back of my thighs and arms." Christenson said.

"Take your shirt off and lie on your front then." I told him which he did.

When I saw the cuts I swore. "Shit Christenson, your meant to go through on your stomach, not rub against the barbed wire." Bull and Perconte chuckled.

I started to clean the mud off the cuts, continuing through Christenson's winces. "What were all your times?" I asked.

"I got 18 minutes 13 seconds." Perconte told me looking a little dejected.

"17 48." Christenson gritted out as I rubbed an especially deep cut with antiseptic cream. "You're not gentle at all, Katie."

"Oh, man up." I continued my work expecting Bull to answer. When he didn't I looked up. "What about you, Bull?"

"14 53." He told me.

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm impressed." I told him honestly.

He smiled at me. "What did you get?" he asked me.

"16 57." My voice came out surly, when I didn't mean it to.

"How in God's name did you do better than me on your first go?" Christenson complained from beneath my hands.

"Probably because you were too busy fighting the barbed wire." I replied scathingly, making the three laugh again. I sighed. "I couldn't get over the wall."

"You obviously did cause you completed the course." Perconte told me. One of Christenson's cuts were still bleeding so I applied pressure to see if it would stop from that alone.

"Joe Toye helped me over." I was still sulking slightly.

"And that matters because?" Christenson asked, resting his head on his arms.

"I wanted to prove I could do it on my own." I changed the topic, finding it embarrassing that I did feel the need to prove myself. "If this cut hasn't stopped bleeding, you're going to need stitches."

"No one, except a few cares if you're a girl as long as you can pull your weight which you obviously can if you got better times than me and Christenson." Frank told me, keeping eye contact as he did so. "And I needed help over the wall."

I smiled at Frank, his words making me feel better. I took the pad of Christenson's back and thankfully it had stopped bleeding. "Well you've escaped stiches this time." I put away all the kit and picked up the bloodied gauze. Christenson rolled back over and put his shirt back on.

I stood up and he followed. "Thanks for patching me up, nurse." He said with a smile.

I held put my hand on his shoulder. "Next time don't get into a fight with the wire, because you will lose." I patted his shoulder and turned to leave hearing the three of them laugh as I left.

Once I'd returned the aid kit, Winters began addressing the group again. "Men, some of you reached the limit but many were over by a minute or two. We need to work on this but for now fall out back to the barracks and make sure you are ready for inspection."

Everyone left for the barracks but I held back to speak to Winters. When I saw he was speaking to another soldier who had his back to me so I decided to wait until they were done. However Winters saw me and motioned me over.

As I got closer I was able to see the other soldiers face and faulted in my step. He was so handsome it was hard to believe he was real. His jaw was strong, with plump kissable lips. His had big brown eyes that you could get lost in, but the power they possessed was even more attractive. His hair was black, shaved at the sides and longer on to allow him to style it into an attractive comb over. He was also dressed in PT gear so his form as on show. He was slim but roped with muscles that had me salivating. He was watching me with the same interest that all the men had because I was a girl on an army base.

"Sir?" I asked after saluting to him.

"Pvt Millard meet Lieutenant Speirs of Dog Company." I saluted to Speirs, trying to control my shaking hand, beautiful men had this effect on me. He saluted back.

"We were just discussing your obstacle course time." Winters told me. I couldn't help but smile slightly. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you, sir."

"It still doesn't beat the best time in Dog company." Speirs commented, his deep voice gliding over me nicely.

I bristled slightly at his comment. I had to look up to meet his eye as I only reached beneath his chin. "In all fairness, sir, it was my first attempt."

Winters chuckled. "I bet she'll have the best time in the company after a few attempts. Maybe even the battalion."

I was shocked by this seeing as my aim was to just get over the wall without help.

Speirs looked over me once again, raking his eyes from my head to my toes, halting slightly on my curves. He huffed a little laugh, a barely noticeable one. "We'll see." He nodded his goodbye Winters and left.

I couldn't help but scoff a little at the man's arrogance and nerve. He was such an arsehole.

Winters put the clipboard he was holding under his arm and then crossed them. "Now what can I do for you?" He asked.

"I was wondering about the shower situation. I can share a room with a bunch of men but I cannot shower in front of them."

He huffed a little laugh. "I understand. There is a private shower for the officers, I will see if I can get permission for you to use them."

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much." I couldn't help but smile broadly.

He nodded at me. "Make sure your good for inspection. You don't want to give Sobel any excuses." I nodded at him this time. "Anything else?"

"No, I'm good sir." I saluted him and once he returned it I left.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they? **

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think!**

* * *

_He nodded at me. "Make sure your good for inspection. You don't want to give Sobel any excuses." I nodded at him this time. "Anything else?"_

_"No, I'm good sir." I saluted him and once he returned it I left._

* * *

Half way to the barracks I had passed a lot of men all shocked to see me with a few shouting comments. I ignored them and continued walking, not being able to take my mind away from Speirs. Sobel then stepped in front of me just before I reached the barracks, dragging me from my thoughts of the pompous man.

I saluted him until he told me at ease. He looked me up and down in my PT gear and it made me feel uneasy. "How have you found your first day private?" He asked me, his voice gentler then it was before.

"It has been good, sir."

"What about the obstacle course?" He began to circle me and it took a lot in me to not ask him what the hell he was doing.

"It was difficult but I made it through."

"What was your time?" he stopped to stand in front of me again.

"16 minutes 57 seconds."

He dropped his mouth to my ear and I couldn't refrain from flinching slightly. "Well that isn't good enough." He stood back up straight to stare and I didn't know what to say in reply.

"One more thing about the men." He bought his hand to point at me. "There will be no frick fracking in my company, understood?"

I felt my lips quirk. "Yes, sir."

He stormed off leaving me laughing on the spot. I started towards my barracks laughing all the way. When I entered everyone looked at me and I wiped the tears from my eye.

"Katie, what's up?" Malarkey asked as I walked past his bed where he was currently scanning his jacket to find any creases or flint.

"Oh my goodness." I fell on my bed only to continue laughing. I sat up once I'd composed myself to see most of the men looking at me like I was mental. "Sobel just told me he wanted no 'frick fracking' in his company." I burst out laughing all over again.

Bill laughed loudly next to me and it spread through the room quickly at Sobel's ridiculousness.

"What the fuck is frick fracking?" Joe asked across from me, laughing but looking a little confused.

Muck walked over and slung an arm over his shoulder. "Well Joe it's that thing a man and lady do together to make a baby, something we have all been deprived of for far too long." He explained and Joe's eyes widened comically before he burst out laughing too.

After we had all stopped laughing we all concentrated on our uniforms, while the men went to the showers in small groups returning looking fresh.

"Duchess, what are you doing for a shower?" Luz asked me.

"Winters is seeing if I can use the private officer's showers, otherwise I guess I'll have to go at ridiculous times to avoid you lot."

"Dammit." Luz groaned, as if he was disappointed he wouldn't get to see me in the nude, which made me laugh. The door slide open and Winters walked in and he waved away our salutes.

"Katie, you have permission to use the officer's showers." He told me with a small smile. I smiled and thanked him while gathering the things I needed to shower.

"Winters, you do realise you have just deprived Luz of seeing his first naked lady." Guarnere told Winters.

Everyone who had heard burst out laughing. "She wouldn't be the first but she would be the best." Luz told me winking as he did so but he only got an eye roll in reply.

I left the barracks smiling, happy about the people I was training with. I could see that I was going to be good friends with Bill, Joe, Liebgott and Luz because of the way we made each other laugh. I'd walked a bit down the path before realising I didn't know where the officer's showers were. I turned to return to the barracks to ask one of the men but I saw Lieutenant Speirs walking down the path, no longer in PT gear but his uniform. I decided to ask him where they were as to show him he did not intimidate me.

"Excuse me, sir?"

He stopped and looked at me so I saluted and he returned it. "What, private?"

I raised my eyebrows at his rudeness. "I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of the officer's showers?" I kept my voice as civil as possible despite the fact this man really got under my skin.

Rather than asking why I was trying to find the private showers like I expected him to, he nodded once, turned and walked away. I stared after him wondering if he was just ignoring my request. It did give me a nice view of his perfect bum though.

"Are you coming private?" Speirs suddenly called without turning round.

Oh, so he was showing me where they were, wouldn't have hurt to tell me, I thought.

I speed walked to catch up to him before walking in step next to him. There was a long drawn out silence that I found greatly uncomfortable.

"What's Dog company's best time then?" I blurted out, feeling as though I was putting myself in the firing line just by talking to him.

"Excuse me?"

"On the obstacle course." I expanded. "I'd like to know the time I'm aiming for" I told him with a slight smirk.

Instead of returning my smirk he stared at me. His face was made of stone and was impossible to read any emotions from. "14 51." He answered simply.

I nodded. "Seems doable."

"You want to get the best time then?" He asked. I was slightly surprised he was continuing the conversation.

"I mainly want to get over the wall by myself, but best time would be nice."

We stopped outside the showers which had a sign clearly indicating them but before I could say thank you, Speirs gripped my bicep and squeezed. I was still in my PT t-shirt so it was skin on skin. His hands were callused and tough against the delicate skin of my inner arm. I couldn't help but gasp a little at the contact. His hand was only in place a few moments before he removed it.

"You need to build your muscles, otherwise you'll never make it over by yourself." He told me harshly.

I nodded my head, whether to agree with him or just to show I acknowledged what he said I'm not sure. "Thank you for showing me the way." My voice was slightly breathless and this made me blush.

He nodded, turned and left. He could have at least said 'you're welcome'. I sighed, annoyed at him for how he affected me and at myself for being so easily effected.

I took my time showering, making sure there was no mud or dirt left in my hair. Once done I dressed in my new uniform of trousers, shirt, jacket and boots which made me feel like I fitted in with the men more. The jacket was baggy on my which covered my breasts but like my PT shorts, my trousers were tight across my behind. I just hoped with all the exercise I would be doing that I would lose some weight and consequently my bum would become smaller. I had two sets of uniforms and the second set I was readying for the inspection tomorrow. I brushed my wet hair so it had a middle parting, leaving it to dry of its own accord in the heat.

I returned to the barracks where everyone was concentrating on their uniform while throwing good humoured insults to one another. I quickly joined in while I arranged my own uniform. When dinner time came around I followed the men into the mess hall and got into the queue in between Luz and Liebgott.

"Prepare yourself Duchess." Liebgott told me from my right as a man heaped something that vaguely resembled mashed potato onto my plate. I guessed he was referring to the food.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." Some form of meat was then put on my plate.

"Beats starving." Luz joked. "Over here." He nudged my arm to direct me to a table that already housed Bill, Joe, Bull, and three other men I didn't know.

When I came into his line of sight, Bill called me over. "Katie, sit here." He nudged an annoyed looking Joe over to make room for me to sit between them. Luz sat on my other side and Liebgott on the other side of the table.

"Can someone please tell me what type of meat this is?" I asked, poking it with my fork like it was going to jump at me.

"Meant to be beef." One of the men I didn't know told me.

"I'm British, we now beef and this is not it." I replied making everyone chuckle.

Bill nudged me. "Katie meet Johnny Martin, Shifty Powers and Carwood Lipton." He pointed firstly with his fork to the man who answered my question about the meat, then to a slim shy looking man and sweet man with a generous smile.

I smiled at all three. "Hello." I started eating the mystery meat.

The shy looking man reached his hand over for me to shake. "My names actually Darrell Powers, but everyone calls me Shifty." I shook his hand. He was the softest spoken man I'd ever met. He smiled widely at me as he sat back down "It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am."

I groaned in frustration and banged slightly on the table. Liebgott laughed. "Don't take it personally Shifty." I looked at his face and he seemed a bit taken aback.

"Sorry, I hate being called ma'am. It makes me feel like my grandmother and you are like the fourth person to call it me today." I explained.

"You know she's right." Bull said, looking off thoughtful while chewing his food.

"What am I right about?" I put some of the mashed potatoes in my mouth and it somehow took all the moisture from it.

"It ain't beef, its horse." Everyone groaned at this but no one stopped eating, we weren't going to get anything better so just had to suck it up.

Luz motioned towards Shifty. "Best shot in Easy Company."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really, how'd you get so good?" I asked him.

He seemed to blush a little at the compliment Luz had given. "I spent alotta time in the woods growing up with my dad. But I'm not that good of a shot, you outta see my dad and granddaddy, now they are good shots."

I smiled at his modesty. "I'm going to see if I can convince them to let me be rifle trained." Everyone stopped eating on the table and looked at me, some with their forks half way to their mouths. "What?"

"You're a medic and a woman, neither of them have guns." Johnny told me, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Bull.

"Well, there are no women in the paratroopers but she's here, ain't she." Bill defended after seeing the look I was giving Johnny.

"I used to hunt back in England and was quite good at it. Could assemble the gun too."

Bill went to reply when Luz started choking. "You ok?" I asked.

"That horse it still kicking." He coughed out.

I burst out laughing and started to bang on his back firmly. Everyone started laughing as Luz tried to stop me from banging on his back because I was hitting too hard.

"I need to hit you hard otherwise it won't get cleared." I argued as I continued to thump on his back.

"It's gone! It's gone, stop." He grabbed my arm. I burst out laughing at the look on his face. "Jesus, don't choke around Nurse Millard unless you want a bruised back."

The raucous laughter coming from our table grabbed the attention of quite a few of the other tables. I was wiping the tears from my eyes when I caught Lieutenant Speirs's eye. He was watching me with an undiscernible look in his eyes. I held his gaze and not knowing what else to do, I nodded at him once in some sort of greeting. I expected him to ignore it but he instead returned the nod. What I then wanted to do was return to my conversation unaffected but before I could stop myself I smirked at him and blushed.

Liebgott threw small piece of bread at me. "What's made you blush Duchess?" he asked, looking around the room to see if he could notice anything.

"Nothing." I answered too quickly to sound nonchalant but kept my eyes on my plate to make sure I didn't give away any clues.

"Who you sweet on?" Toye asked, leaning forward like a gossip hungry woman.

I laughed. "No one, I'm flushed cause I got hot from laughing." I lied easily. I gave up on my food after about ¾ of it.

"Sure, sure." Bill shook his head, indicating that he thought I was lying. I just smiled at them, showing that I didn't care if they believed me or not, I wasn't going to tell.

The rest of the night was spent laughing and joking while checking equipment. I had less to do than the rest of them because I didn't have a rifle so instead helped them in any way I could. I found myself going to bed with a smile on my face, with calls of "good night" ringing throughout the room.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think!**

* * *

_The rest of the night was spent laughing and joking while checking equipment. I had less to do than the rest of them because I didn't have a rifle so instead helped them in any way I could. I found myself going to bed with a smile on my face, with calls of "good night" ringing throughout the room._

* * *

"You people are at a position of attention!" Sobel's voice cut through the air, irritating and excessively loud.

I had woken up still on a high from a great first day with the men. Despite the cheery nature continuing, there were complaints about the inspection and warnings to me to make sure everything was perfect.

I heard Joe mutter behind me "here we go."

Sobel stormed over to Perconte who was at the opposite end of the line to me. "Pvt Perconte, have you been blousing your trousers over your boots like a paratrooper?" he asked him.

No matter what Perconte's answer was, he was going to be punished. "No, sir."

"Then explain the creases at the bottom." Sobel pointed to the bottom of Frank's trousers, which I knew were creaseless because I had been the one to help him make them like that.

"No excuses, sir."

"Volunteering for the Paratroopers Infantry is one thing, Perconte, but you've got a long way to go to prove that you belong here. Your weekend pass is revoked."

This went on for five minutes, Sobel walking up and down the lines, picking faults with the men and then revoking their weekend passes. Each punishment was justified with a lie, just for Sobel to show he had power over us all. I had to give it to the men though, they answered him calmly without even having to take a breath to calm themselves.

After punishing Malarkey and naming him Pvt Bullshit, Sobel charged over to me.

"Pvt Millard." He was in front of me, looking me up and down.

"Yes, sir." I replied, trying to keep my tone in check.

Out of nowhere, Sobel gripped my wrist in a painful hold and bought it up for him to look at. "What is this Pvt Millard?" he murmured at me. It was the calm before the storm.

"It is blood, sir." Before we left for inspection, I happened to look to my side to see the deep cut from the previous day on Christenson's back had reopened and was bleeding pretty profusely. When I cleared it up, my sleeve had dragged slightly over the trail of blood, leaving a speck on the cuff.

Sobel dropped my wrist. "This sloppiness is why I don't want people like _you_ in Easy Company." When he said 'you' he poked my sharply in the chest causing a considerable amount of pain.

"Weekend pass revoked." With that he turned and walked to the front to take a turn at Liebgott.

I had to refrain from rubbing the throbbing spot on my chest and keep my eyes forward. I saw Tab standing next to me look at me with anger on his face. I was surprised Sobel had been so open about his distaste for me being in his company. Sobel yelling bought me back form my thoughts.

"I wouldn't take this rusty piece of shit to war with me… and I will not take you to war in your condition." He was holding a bayonet in the air which I guesses was Liebgott's which he then threw to the floor with enough force that it dug itself into the ground. "No thanks to these men and their infractions, every man in the company who had a weekend pass has lost it."

He looked up and down the rows of men and muttered "change into PT gear. We're running Curahee."

Winters told us to fall out and that we had two minutes. Everyone rushed to the barracks and the minute we were inside, the men were on me.

"Why the hell is he touching her like that?" Tab asked to no one in particular, his tone angry while pointing at me.

"Come on, like he hasn't got a little rough with you lot in the past." I was trying to brush it off like it was normal for a captain to put his hand on a soldier. I had seen it a few times in London but it was frowned upon and sometimes came with a reprimand.

I started taking off my OD's with my PT kit underneath it. Joe came and stood in front of me already out of his OD's. "Actually his hasn't so don't try and brush it off like it don't matter." He ordered me in his raspy voice.

I smiled reassuringly at him. "It's fine. Nothing I can't handle."

Johnny Martin came storming into the barracks, turns out he was one of the men who had been weary of me on the first day. "Hey, Perconte, what were you thinking, blousing your pants?"

Frank stood, obviously agitated by Johnny. "Shut up, alright? He gigged everybody!"

Johnny walked back over to him, standing quite a few inches taller than him. "Yeah? Well you should know better! Don't give him any excuses."

Frank stepped forward to retort so I went over and stood between them. "Frank cool it off alright." I pressed a hand to his chest and he sat back down on the bed. I didn't want the men of Easy arguing, especially not because Sobel. "And Martin, there are no creases on those trousers. Stop taking your frustrations out on other people, it doesn't help anybody."

Johnny turned away and stormed to his bunk, ripping his OD's off.

I looked to Luz who gave me a small smile. "Before you ask Duchess, yes it is like this every inspection."

"Well I can't wait for the next one then." I told him sarcastically, causing a few titters from those who were listening and an infectious grin from Luz. I walked back to my bed, patting Bill on the back as I went, to sort out my laces. Army boots were definitely not that comfortable.

Lipton charged into the room clapping his hands together. "Alright, let's go! On the road in PT formation. Let's, move, move, move."

The men sighed heavily as they ran towards to door, I guessed running Curahee wasn't easy.

We were walking down the path, with me near the front with Liebgott. He was tense with anger so I put a hand on his arm to calm him down and show him he wasn't alone. He looked at my hand and his face softened before looking up at me and smiling.

Some soldiers from Able Company left their barracks dressed in their official uniforms. One turned back and looked at us all.

"Ah, Easy Company. Hey, while you're running, don't worry, well take your dames to the movies for ya." He called, grabbing the attention of his friends and making them chuckle.

"Yeah, good, they need some female company!" Liebgott retorted making me laugh next to him. This bought the man's attention onto me.

He raised his eyebrows. "What about you, princess? Do you need some company for the movies?" He trained his eyes on my legs.

I scoffed but was slightly shocked by his offer. "I'd rather go with Sobel." Hoots of laughter surrounded me from the Easy men, along with pats on the back. With that, we ran forward with the guys knocking Able's caps off as they went past.

We started to run up the hill, I found myself on the end of the row with Bull next to me. Sobel was chanting loudly at us, the run may have been bearable if it wasn't for his presence.

"Where do we run?" He yelled.

"Curahee!"

"What's Curahee mean?"

"We stand alone!"

"How far up? How far down?"

On the answer of "three miles up! Three miles down!" I tripped on a rock and nearly feel to the floor but someone grabbed my t-shirt from behind and Bull grasped my arm to keep me standing. I glanced upwards to see if Sobel had noticed but he was too busy yelling "Now, what company is this?" to notice. I looked behind me to see it was Joe Toye who had grabbed my t-shirt and smiled my thanks before doing the same to Bull.

"And what do we do?"

"Stand alone!"

A few moments late I saw Muck fall a few rows ahead and Malarkey and Smokey went to hold him up. Muck wasn't as lucky as me and Sobel saw, running up to the side of the row yelling "Do not help that man! Do no help that man! You do not stop!" I was going to have to look at that ankle when we got to the bottom.

Sobel sped up and disappeared in the bushes. I frowned not understanding where the hell he was going.

"It's a short cut to the top, sugar." Bull panted from beside me. I turned to look at him and he was dripping with sweat. The Georgia heat was not forgiving.

With Sobel no longer in sight and the path narrowing people broke out of formation. Seeing Muck still limping, I sped up to speak to him.

"How's the ankle, Muck?" I asked, looking down at it. I could see some slight swelling coming from the top of his boots.

"Hurtin' like a son of a bitch." He grimaced as we went over a rougher piece of land.

"Lean on me while Sobel isn't here." I told him, taking his arm and putting it over my shoulder. Muck started to ague and tried to remove his arm. "Keep your arm where it is Muck." I ordered him firmly he looked taken aback by my tone but kept his arm around me and leaned some of his weight onto me.

"Oooooooh you got the nurse voice." Malarkey teased from behind us.

I helped Muck until the path narrowed even further and Sobel came into view. I wanted to help him more but he refused, telling me he didn't want me getting into trouble with Sobel for him.

I was struggling as I got closer to the top. It hurt to breathe in and it was getting harder to focus on my steps which meant I slipped often on the uneven terrain. I felt myself slowing down which annoyed me but then I felt a hand press on my shoulder I turned to see it was Frank giving me a reassuring and encouraging smile. This teamed with Winters voice egging us on at the top, covering up Sobel's put downs I managed to reach the top, smack the plaque and ignore Sobel's glare.

Coming down was easier than going up but I slowed down regardless to find Muck and help him again but I saw he was being supported by Doc Roe.

I ran over to them. "Seeing as you've got him, I'm gonna run down and get an aid kit ready. Is that alright?" I asked.

Gene nodded "Dog Company will have one with them while they're doing PT." He looked me up and down, surveying me like a doctor. "Katie, you're bleedin'."

"What?" I looked at myself, finding a trail of blood down my lower leg. My right knee was scraped up pretty bad. "Must have been when I kept tripping up the top."

"Well make sure you clean it out." Gene ordered.

"Once we've got Muck sorted, I will." I patted Muck on the shoulder and smiled at Gene before speeding up again before he could give me the scolding he looked like he wanted to give.

I caught up with Bill who looked me over. "Duch, you're bleedin'!" Many of the men had took to calling me 'Duch' as a shorter version of my new nickname 'Duchess' despite my slight dislike for it. Bill tried to catch my arm to slow me down but I evaded his hold by speeding up.

I smirked. "Tell me something I don't know." I was gaining ground quickly, with the base coming into view.

"You've got a nice ass!" Bill yelled with a cheeky smile evident in his voice. I was too out of breath to reply so shot him the bird instead, smiling as I did so.

Once I got to the bottom I looked for Dog Company, while trying to catch my breath. I recognised some members of Dog Company by the obstacle course so started to jog over. I faltered when I saw that Lieutenant Speirs was the one in charge and there was no other officer about but him. He was doing the same job Winters had done yesterday, telling lines of eight to go through the obstacle course.

My heart was racing but it wasn't just from the running. He was in PT gear again, which should be made illegal with a body like his and his hair was wavy across his forehead. As I got closer and the rows of men disapated, he caught sight of me and held my gaze. I couldn't help but drop my eyes to the floor or look over at the men on the obstacle course, his stare was too piercing. He had just told the last row to go when I stood in front of him and saluted.

He saluted back. "What is it Private?" His eyes dropped to my still bleeding knee before looking back to my face.

"Can I have the aid kit please, sir?" I asked politely while still out of breath.

He walked to the side of a building where the kit was propped up against and held it out to me. "Is it for your knees?" There was a twinge of concern in his voice which I was surprised to hear.

I took the kit from him. "No, it's for Private Muck, sir." I turned and saw Muck who was a while a way but was making steady progress with the aid of Doc Roe over to the two of us. "I should be getting over to them. Thanks you for the kit, sir."

I turned to leave but was stopped by Speirs stern voice. "Private, you will attend to your knees and Doc Roe will see to Muck." He had his arms crossed and was giving me a look that I suspect made most do what he said.

"Excuse me sir, but my knee is of secondary importance." I was surprised at my bravery to use my, what Malarkey called, 'nurse voice' on Speirs, as it was there to challenge whatever the other person had said.

Speirs raised one of his eyebrows. His face hardened further. "Private Millard sit down now." His tone brooked no argument and I felt a flush roll over me.

"But I need to…"

"That's an order." He had took a step forward, making his presence even larger.

I sighed heavily and sank to the floor, dropping the kit next to me. I turned to look to see Muck and Gene closer than before but not close enough to warrant me sitting down. A hand was suddenly pressed to my leg causing me to move it abruptly but the hand just tightened. I looked to see it was Speirs holding my leg with the aid kit open and a pair of tweezers in his free hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still trying to move my leg out of his grip unsuccessfully.

"Cleaning up your knee." He started to tweeze bits of rock out of my knee with his eyebrows drawn together in concentration.

"Why?" I asked breathing through the discomfort.

"Because if I left you to do it yourself and went back to Dog Company, you would just run off to Muck." He looked up at me through his long lashes. "Wouldn't you?"

I smirked. "Not necessarily." We both knew that was a lie.

I winced when he dug out a deep piece of rock. Speirs slid his hand from the front of my leg to the back of my calf and rubbed it in a soothing gesture. He looked up at me again and I couldn't help but blush. He continued tweezing in silence, rubbing my calf when I winced and by the time he had finished, Muck dropped next to me in a heap.

He raised his eyebrows at me, illustrating his shock, but didn't say anything.

"How's your ankle?" I moved to inspect but a hand on my thigh stopped my movement.

Speirs looked at me firmly. "Stay."

I sighed and settled back into my previous position. "Yes, sir." I answered sarcastically.

"Could be better but its fine." Muck told me, watching Speirs as if he had grown a second head.

As Gene removed Muck's shoe, Speirs cleaned my knee out with an antiseptic rub, again soothing my calf when I winced. I watched Gene poke and prod Muck's ankle to stop myself from watching Speirs bandage up my knee.

Once Speirs was done I looked back to him to see his eyes were on my face. I smiled at him. "Thank you." I murmured, my voice refusing to come out any stronger.

He nodded, holding my gaze. "Don't ever try to disobey my orders again." His voice was softer than I expected it to be but no less powerful. Before I could respond with anything but a blush, he had rose and walked off towards the end of the obstacle course.

I let out a stuttered breathe, turning my head to look at Muck and Gene, both watching me.

"What the hell was that about?" Muck sounded gobsmacked.

I started to root through the aid kit looking for a suitable bandage for Muck's ankle. "I tried to come and help you even after he told me to sort out my knee. I tried to refuse but he wasn't having any of it." I shrugged like it wasn't a big deal but in reality my heart was still racing from his close proximity and his touch on my calf and thigh.

"Didn't look like it was just that, Katie." Gene commented, starting to wrap Muck's ankle with the bandage I had held out to him.

I shrugged again. "It was nothing." I decided to change the subject. "Good job we've just got lectures for the rest of today. You'll be able to keep it elevated rather than buggering it up some more."

Gene looked up from finished the bandages. "What does 'buggering' mean?" he sounded genuinely confused.

I smirked. "British term when used in this way meaning to fuck up." I gave the definition to both their confused faces and then they nodded in understanding. Gene and I helped Muck to his feet.

"I'll take the kit back to Dog Company." Gene said, guiding Muck's arm over my shoulder.

I nodded and started to guide Muck back into the barracks, grateful not to have to have another run in with Speirs so soon after the last.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! Thank you to Darly'sKhaleesi and Guest for your reviews, really encouraged me to get the next chapter out as fast as possible!**

* * *

_"I'll take the kit back to Dog Company." Gene said, guiding Muck's arm over my shoulder._

_I nodded and started to guide Muck back into the barracks, grateful not to have to have another run in with Speirs so soon after the last._

* * *

_6 Weeks Later_

Is was the middle of the night and Easy Company were marching in full gear for 12 miles. Like we did every Friday night after out weekends passes had been revoked during inspection. Over the past weeks I had improved on the obstacle course, not quite meeting the top time but was getting there, improved my ability to run Curahee, even in full gear and was flying through lectures easily. This, however, did not improve Sobel's opinion of me as he continued to single me out often. Despite this my bond with the guys only grew and they were all fiercely protective of me.

I let my mind drift to Speirs to lessen the boredom I was feeling. We hadn't spoken since the day he had patched up my knee but there were plenty of looks given both ways. He would watch me do the assault course from the side lines, nodding to me when I completed it before leaving. In the mess hall, more often than not I would look up from laughing with the men to see him watching me. I didn't know what was going on there because the novelty of me being female had definitely wore off to the rest of the men on base.

"Lt Winters." I heard Bull call from a couple of rows ahead of me.

"What is it?"

"Permission to speak sir?"

"Permission granted."

"Sir, we've got nine companies."

"We do." Winters sounded as if he already knew where this conversation was going.

"How come were the only company marching every Friday night, 12 miles, full packed uniform, in the pitch dark?" I sighed and shook my head at Bull's question. We already knew the answer to it but if it made him feel better to vent then so be it.

"Why do you think, Pvt. Randleman?"

"Lt. Sobel hates us, sir." I huffed at Bull's answer. He definitely disliked the rest of Easy Company, but I think his hatred was reserved especially for me.

Winters took a moment before answering. "Lt. Sobel does not hate Easy Company, Pvt. Randleman. He just hates you."

There were hoots of laughter. "Thank you, sir." Bull's smile was clear to hear in his voice.

People started saying "he hates you too" to the men closest to them. In all honesty, in the long run it was better for Sobel to hate you because it meant you were probably a decent human.

"He hates you too, Duch." Christenson said next to me, raising his canteen to his lips.

I looked at his canteen feeling guilty. Earlier in the day I had overheard Sobel telling another officer that Easy would be doing the march under orders to not drink from their canteens. Upon hearing this I informed everyone to ensure that they drank enough before the march to keep themselves hydrated. However, Christenson hadn't been around when I'd told everybody so hadn't drank to the same quantity as the rest of use and that coupled with him having to lug round a machine gun, he couldn't resist drinking from his canteen.

"Pass it here." I told him, motioning towards his canteen.

"Why?" he looked puzzled.

"Just do it would you." I took my canteen and began tipping water from mine into his.

"What do you think you're doing, Katie? Do you want Sobel to kill you cause I think he's just looking for an excuse at this point?" Liebgott ground out. His hair trigger temper was getting tested daily with Sobel and it was getting to him.

"Hopefully this way he won't notice that there's a bit missing from both our canteens." I explained, handing Christenson back his canteen, his face holding a thankful smile on it.

At the end of the march we lined up in formation. Sobel strutted up and down at the front.

"Lt. Winters I want canteens out of belts with the caps unscrewed." Sobel instructed. Winters relayed the orders and we followed them.

"On my command they will pour the contents onto the ground." Winters again relayed the instruction.

Christenson looked at me for a second, nerves flitting across his face. I smiled reassuringly at him.

"Now Lt."

"Pour them." Winters ordered.

Sobel stared up and down the lines, watching the flow of water, seeing if any stopped before they were meant to. Mine and Christenson's stopped within seconds of one another and sadly caught the attention of Sobel.

He stormed over to us and stood in between us. "Millard!" He knew my name by heart but had to check Christenson's jacket for his. "Christenson! Why is there no water in your canteens? You drank from your canteens didn't you?"

"Yes, sir." We replied in unison. Sobel started to berate Winters for allowing us to disobey an order. While this was happening I could see my closest friends Luz, Liebgott, Joe, Bill and Tab twitching with annoyance, whether with Sobel or me I'm not sure.

"Pvt. Christenson I expect better from you. Pvt. Millard" He turned to face me directly. "You are weak and this is just another reminder of that." He poked me in the chest like he always did. I had little bruises from his pokes that I managed to keep covered from the guys.

"You both have disobeyed a direct order. You will fill you canteens and repeat all 12 miles of the march immediately."

I supressed my groan. I was so tired all I wanted to do was sleep. "Yes, sir."

"Fall out!" Sobel screamed at us.

We both turned and ran to the water tap to fill our canteens.

"Katie, I am so sorry." Christenson looked heartbroken and as weary as I felt.

I shook my head, waving off his apology. I filled my canteen and started downing it immediately, never loving the taste of water more. I waited for Christenson as he did the same before we refilled our canteens again and started the march all over again.

I don't know how long it took us to finish the march for a second time, but after reporting to Winters who checked our canteens and gave us an apologetic smile, I had never been happier to see my tiny cot in the barracks.

What I wasn't happy about was Liebgott on my bed, Toye on Bill's and Tab on Luz's, all five still awake. Their whispers fell silent when I walked in the room, indicating they had just been discussing me. I rubbed my sore shoulder, painful from helping carry the machine gun and groaned.

"Unless one of you has a bar of Cadbury chocolate for me I don't want to know." I had never heard my own voice sound this weary. I ignored the fact that Liebgott was sat with his back against the wall and legs spread in front of him on my cot and climbed in next to. He immediately put his arm around me, pulling me closer so that my head rested on his t-shirt covered chest so I wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Damn, I would have got on the Duchess's bed if I'd known I'd get a cuddle out of it." Bill griped form his own bed. I smirked into Liebgott's chest and felt him chuckle underneath me.

There was a few moments of silence, enough of one to make me think they were just going to leave me to sleep but then Luz spoke. "Liebgott told us what you did."

I had hoped he wouldn't have so turned my head to frown up into his face. "Don't pout, you couldn't have thought I wouldn't tell 'em."

"You need to stop doing shit like this." Joe ordered, his raspy voice only harsher as a whisper.

I frowned again. Liebgott's arm around me squeezed my waist tight. "I told ya', don't pout."

"You keep helping everyone out but putting yourself in the firing line." Tab murmured from Luz's cot.

I decided to play dumb. "I dunno what you're talking about."

"Yeah you do. Only yesterday when running Curahee you fell out of line on purpose when Sobel was going in on Malarkey." Luz reminded me.

"And the other day on the course you cut out of it to patch me up even after Sobel told you not too." Joe looked at me with a hard stare. I'd had to run the course three times after that in full gear.

"The only thing you get when doing dumb stuff like that is more bruises." Bill pointed at me. I'd never heard them all be this serious for this long.

Again I played dumb, not knowing how they would have seen them. "What bruises?" I asked innocently.

Liebgott used his free hand to pull my top to the side slightly to reveal the bruises Sobel had caused. I tugged my shirt back to where it was to cover them before sitting upright and dropping my head into my hands and rubbing my face.

They were all quiet again, watching me for a reaction so I took my turn to defend myself. "It's not the only thing I get. I get to help you guys and that is what I am here to do."

"But you don't let us help you." I heard Malarkey say from his own bed.

I looked round. "You've been listening." It was more of a statement than a question. I felt a hand rub my back soothingly and turned to see it was Luz.

There was a murmured reply of 'yes' from multiple beds. "I thought you were all asleep."

"Who can sleep with these lot yapping away?" Perconte groaned, turning over in his bunk to be facing the group. I smirked at his complaint.

"Well you can all sleep now because this conversation is over." I announced to the group.

"It's over when you promise to start looking out for yourself more." Liebgott told me, fixing me with a stare. I looked round the group and they were all giving me the same look.

I shook my head. "Not gonna happen." I started pushing Liebgott to get him off my bed and he stood with a heavy sigh. I instantly got into my bed and started shucking my clothes off under the covers until I was just in my PT t-shirt and pants.

They all sighed in resignation when I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. I heard Liebgott, Joe and Tab return to their own beds and Luz shuffle into his. I closed my eyes to sleep when I heard Bill's whispered voice.

"Will you at least stop finding yourself in situation alone with Sobel? That nasty look in his eye is growing." He warned.

I turned over to look at him and held my hand out for him. He instantly put his rough hand in mine and squeezed. The worried tone of his voice led me to agree. "Will do Gonorrhoea." I tried to remove my hand from his but he wouldn't let me.

"Night Duchess." His voice was soft.

"Night Bill." I yawned through my words and was asleep within seconds.

_A Month Later_

Training was picking up pace. Every piece of exercise was usually now done in full gear and training for jumping was building up to the Company making the jumps necessary to get our jump wings. With the increase in training, there was an increase in injuries. This meant that most of my down time was spent looking after others rather than resting so I was exhausted.

Walking towards the mess hall, I saw Sobel tugging firmly on Winters collar. I stopped to watch to see that he was in fact attaching a first lieutenant bar to his collar and I couldn't help but feel proud of him. I went to walk off when I heard my name called by Sobel. I went over and saluted to him, disappointed to see he had been promoted to Captain.

"Pvt. Millard, Colonel Sink wishes to see you in his office." He informed me, glaring at me through narrowed eyes before storming off.

I turned to watch him strut away. "Good day to you too, sir." I murmured sarcastically.

"What was that, Private?" a stern, deep voice spoke from behind.

I looked back round to see who it was. "Lt. Speirs." I breathed out his name. We still hadn't spoken since the knee encounter but our shared looks had continued. He raised his eyebrow at me to indicate he wanted me to answer his question. "It was nothing, sir. Just talking to myself."

He nodded once. I expected him to leave at this point but instead he stayed stood in front of me. I didn't know if he wanted me to leave first or what, he was just too difficult to predict. "What's your time on the course now?"

I felt my eyes widen of their own accord. "It was at 14 58 but since being in full pack it's gone up again. Today it was 15 9, sir."

He nodded. "You almost got over the wall as well today." He observed. I hadn't noticed him today when we were running the course, I usually did.

"Yeah, I'm getting there, sir." I looked quickly at my watch. "I don't want to be rude, sir, but Colonel Sink has asked to see me and I don't want to keep him waiting." I wanted to stay and see where this conversation led. Every time we looked at each other and spoke, there was an excitement that made it feel like anything could happen. I loved it.

"What have you done to get yourself into trouble?" he asked, a small crooked smirk playing on his lips.

I was shocked. He was teasing me, actually teasing me with a smirk on his face. It was the best smirk I had ever seen and it was directed at me. "Did you just make a joke, Lieutenant Speirs?" I asked, my own smile spreading. It was a genuine question but it came out as though I was flirting.

"It happens occasionally." He drawled, his beautiful smirk still in place. He looked me up and down once, making me blush. When his eyes returned to my face, they were void of the humour and his stone face had returned. "You best get to the Colonel, Pvt." He brushed past me, his swagger firmly in place.

I let out a stuttered breath. "What the hell was that?" I asked myself.

I got to the Colonel's office five minutes later and was led right in. I stood to attention and saluted him. Once he had returned it, he offered me a seat which I took.

"Pvt. Millard, I have been looking over all you're training and I have to say I'm surprised but impressed." Colonel Sink gave me a smile.

"Thank you, sir."

"I have decided that I want all men to be taught some basic medic training." I nodded thinking this would be a good idea. "After talking to a number of people, I have decided you would be the best person to take on this job."

I was stunned, I thought he was just going to ask my advice. "Sir, are you sure I would be the best person for the job?" I didn't want to mess up a piece of training that could potentially save peoples lives.

"You have the experience and you have the knowledge. You also have the respect needed for people to listen." I raised my eyebrows at this, maybe the men in Easy respected me but I doubted this spread to other companies. "But just to ensure you have the respect you need and deserve, I have seen it fit to fast track you to staff sergeant."

I forgot how to breathe. "Oh my goodness." I breathed out, leaning back in my seat in shock.

I heard the Colonel chuckle. "You seem surprised."

"That's because I am, sir."

"I don't know why you are, you are one of the best we have, and not just as a medic but as a soldier." He explained.

I felt myself smile. "I don't know how to thank you enough, sir. I'm grateful to be given the chance to be a paratrooper let alone having a promotion."

He nodded. "Captain Sobel has lectures planned for all of tomorrow afternoon due to bad weather forecast. Your first lecture will be to Easy Company and the following day you will give another to Dog Company." Colonel Sink leant over and gave me two sets of chevrons, one for each jacket. "Unless there is anything else you wish to discuss, you are dismissed."

It crossed my mind to ask to be rifle trained but I didn't want to push my luck, especially after just being promoted. "Thank you, sir." I stood and saluted, which he returned and left his office with a massive smile on my face.

I walked to the mess hall, deciding which techniques I should teach the men first. There was no queue for food because I was so late and when I turned to face the tables to search for a seat, I saw Toye motioning me over.

"Hey, Duch, where you been?" Bill asked the moment I was seated.

"Colonel Sink's office." I told them nonchalantly.

Everyone stilled around me. "Did Sobel get you into trouble?" Toye asked, a threat ready to spill from his mouth if my answer was yes.

I shook my head. "And that is Captain Sobel by the way."

Everyone looked at me shocked, with some grumbles of annoyance. "You're fucking with us right?" Tab groaned from across the table.

"Nope. Though Winters has been promoted too." This earned some smiles and mumbles of 'good' and 'he deserves it'. I decided to tell them at this point. "I've been promoted too." I said it as if it was nothing, putting a spoonful of whatever the hell I was eating into my mouth.

All eyes were on me, all silent in shock. "Fuck off." Bill told me a smile spreading over his handsome face.

I cleared my throat. "I don't think you're supposed to speak to your staff sergeant that way, Pvt. Gonorrhoea." I joked, a smile of my own spreading on my face.

Everyone burst into congratulations, with Toye grabbing me in a hug with pats on the back coming from others. I heard a yell of 'listen up' and turned to see it was Luz stood on the edge of the bench. All eyes were on him.

"Easy Company has got a new staff sergeant, boys!" I felt myself blush in embarrassment before Tab pulled my under his shoulder in a one armed hug. "Everyone give it up for staff sergeant Duchess." I burst out laughing at the use of my nickname but it was drowned out by applause and shouts of congratulations from tables of Easy Company. Liebgott, Malarkey and Hoob came running over from their own table to crush me in a group hug. I didn't think the men would react this, if anything I thought my closest friends would give me a congratulations with others being annoyed that I had been promoted instead of them.

I scanned the room to see a table of Dog Company at the back of the room. Speirs was sat at the end of the bench and was watching me. I couldn't remove the smile from my face, even under the scrutiny of his eyes. I nodded at him like I often did as an acknowledgment but was surprised when he smirked the same smirk from earlier and raised his hands just high enough for me to see them before clapping them together softly. I didn't know it was possible but my smile widened further and I held his gaze while my heart thumped in my chest until I was pulled back into my seat and questioned by my friends on my promotion.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think!**

**Got a bit carried away so this is a long one!**

* * *

_The Next Day_

"We are having recognisable food for once?" I asked shocked. I was staring at my plate which actually resembled spaghetti.

A Private who I didn't know the name of was looking at his food twirled round his fork. "This stuff is orange. Spaghetti ain't supposed to be orange."

"This ain't spaghetti. This is army noodles with ketchup." Perconte moaned from around his mouthful of food from beside me.

"Oh stop complaining. It's better than the usual stuff." I was actually enjoying it, usually I ate the food because I had to or starve but for once it wasn't bad.

"Listen to the Duchess. You ain't gotta eat it." A gruff voice came from behind us. I didn't have to turn to see it was Bill. He pushed Frank down the bench so that he could sit next to me. I smiled at him which he returned before reaching up with his fingers under my chin and wiping the corner of my mouth with his thumb where I guessed some of the spaghetti sauce was.

"Oh, come on Gonorrhoea, as a fellow Italian you should know that calling this crap spaghetti is a mortal sin." Frank griped, pointing at his food with his fork.

"You don't want it? I'll have it." Hoob said from behind us, reaching between Bill and Frank to get at Frank's plate.

"I'm eating here!" Frank grabbed onto his plate.

"Hey! Get outta here!" Bill told him, pushing Hoob on the shoulder. I chuckled thinking that these guys would got to the end of the world to protect their food.

"Nervous about your lecture, Duch?" Bill asked before tucking in.

I nodded. "A bit. I'll be more nervous tomorrow when it's Dog Company." I knew that Easy Company would be kind to me regardless if I was shit or not but Dog Company had no loyalty to me.

"Cause of Speirs." Bill concluded. I turned my head in shock not knowing where that had come from. Bill gave me a wink. Before I could ask what the hell he meant, Sobel came barging in.

"Orders changed! Get up!" Everyone stood to attention, many still chewing their last mouthful. "Lectures are cancelled; Easy Company are running Curahee! Move! Move!" Sobel screamed. I grimaced thinking of the full stomachs of the men laden with heavy food. There was going to be puke and a lot of it.

I looked to Bill who was looking at his plate with a murderous glare. I gripped his arm reassuringly and when he looked up, I shook my head in a silent request for him to calm down. His face softened as he looked at me. I let go of his arm as we started to make towards the mess hall exit, passing Sobel who had a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

In the barracks, everyone was vocalising their hatred for Sobel. I kept quiet, disappointed that I wasn't going to be giving my medic's lecture. Before I knew it we were running. Sobel was making us go at a gruelling pace while screaming insults. My stomach was turning and hearing others vomiting wasn't helping. I was running in between Tab and Toye with Luz next to Toye and even though Toye is described as the toughest of the tough by everyone, he had just puked. I rubbed his back as he leant forward, attempting to continue running as he did so.

Hoob was sick a couple rows in front of us provoking Sobel into a verbal attack. "You're a washout Pvt. Hoobler! You should pack up those ears and go home!"

A few moments later is was Smokey's turn. "Looks like Gordons done! Aren't you Gordon? You finished? You do not deserve to get your wings!"

Sobel moved onto Bull next which surprised me. Usually he steers clear of the huge man whether it is because he was scared of him or because Bull was one of the finest, I didn't know.

My stomach flip flopped again and I knew I was going to be sick. I started gagging and leant forward, the spaghetti I had eaten making a reappearance. Tab started patting and rubbing me on the back as I tried to miss my t-shirt and boots as I kept running.

"Staff sergeant Millard. Look at you, you're a mess!" I finished being sick to see Sobel running in line with my row. "I would never have given you that promotion, you don't deserve it! You are yet to show me your worth in this company. You are worthless!" he screamed across at me. Tab and Toye looked murderous.

Sobel was about to continue when I heard Luz singing. "We fall upon the rises, we pull upon the grass." The rest of the company began to join in, cutting off whatever Sobel was about to yell and boosting morale. I looked over at Luz and smiled my thanks to him and he smirked in response.

I got to the top in my best time yet. When we returned to the bottom, all congratulating one another that we had done well. Sobel glared at me and I could feel his hatred, feel that something was brewing in that mind of his but I didn't feel intimidated by him what so ever.

A water canteen was being passed around and when it got to me I swilled my mouth out to get rid of the taste of sick.

"Sergeant Millard!" I turned to Sobel and he motioned me over. I saluted which he sloppily returned.

"Yes, sir?"

"The lecture with Dog Company tomorrow will also have Easy Company present to make up for the missed lecture today."

I nodded. "Yes, sir." I kept my voice void of any emotion, it was the only way I could be vaguely respectful.

He glared down at me. "I think these lectures will be a waste of time, especially with you leading them."

I managed to keep my eyebrow in place. "If you don't think I am best suited for the job you could tell Colonel Sink because he should be informed if the person he thinks is best fit for this position and a promotion is worthless." I worded it like a suggestion but it was more of a threat. Colonel Sink would not take nicely to a lower commander suggesting his taste in soldiers was bad. Sobel's gaze darkened and he stormed off without dismissing me.

I couldn't help but laugh at his retreating form, I could practically see the steam coming out of his eyes.

"You need to watch what you say to him." I heard from behind me.

"Lt. Speirs, do you make a habit of listening to other people's conversations?" I teased. Since yesterday I'd decided to be more confident when speaking to him to see if I could get that teasing side out of him again.

There was a flash of a smirk, not on his lips but in his eyes. "I'm serious Sergeant, saying things like that to him is like poking a rabid dog with a stick." Speirs warned. I didn't know why he cared.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Being able to annoy him like that is the only silver lining the man has."

Speirs eyes darkened. "Millard, I'm telling you to stop it. You're putting yourself in danger, he will snap one day and you won't like it."

I crossed my arms and I smirked, unable to supress it. I liked that he cared, liked that he was so demanding. "Yes, sir." The tone of my voice insinuated that I wasn't going to listen to him. I saluted and left before he could get another word in, for once wanting to be the one who left first.

_The Following Day_

I stood in the lecture tent, arranging my supplies for teaching and was attempting to get my breathing under control. Turns out I had a slight fear of public speaking which I did not expect. My hands were shaking so I clutched them together to try and control it.

"Hey, Duch!" I turned to see Tab walking through the entrance flap of the tent with Liebgott and Bill.

By the looks on their faces I wasn't looking great. They all moved towards me but Tab got to me first, enveloping me in a reassuring hug. I fisted my hands in his jacket to try and ground myself. A hand rubbed my lower back from the left and the voice that followed told me it was Liebgott.

"Guessing your nervous then." He stated.

I laughed a humourless laugh. "Bit of an understatement." I replied into Tab's collar. I released him and went back to my supplies. "Turns out I have a bit of a fear of public speaking."

"Now that isn't something I thought our big, brave nurse would be afraid of." Bill had come to stand on the other side of the table, putting his hand over mine. I looked up into his eyes to see them to be reassuring.

I let out a shaky breath. "I'm gonna be demoted if I'm shit."

"Like that's going to happen, you're not shit at anything!" Tab told me.

I huffed a laugh. "Well, what can I say?" I flicked my hair off my shoulder dramatically. "I'm incredible."

The three of them chuckled at my sarcasm. "Don't get cocky on us now." Liebgott instructed, a cheeky grin on his face.

"We'll get Easy to spread out so you can always find a familiar face, just imagine you're talking to us in the barracks." I smiled at Bill in thanks, having a friendly face was really going to help.

"You're smiling, our job is done." As Tab finished his sentence with a smile, the men started piling into the tent. Liebgott and Tab went to tell them to spread out but I stopped Bill.

"What did you mean yesterday?" I asked, I had wanted to ask him since yesterday but hadn't had the chance to get him alone.

He frowned a little "What?" he asked confused.

I looked over my shoulder to make sure no one was in ear shot. "When you said I'd be nervous because of Speirs."

Bill smirked, a teasing smile I'd grown to love when not directed at me and loathed it when it was. "You think Old Bill hasn't noticed you two?"

"There is no 'us two'." I don't know why I lied, probably because I didn't understand what Speirs and I were. We rarely spoke but our eyes were often trained on one another, but someone as handsome as him wouldn't want a girl like me.

Bill raised his eyebrow. "Doesn't look that way." He turned and left abruptly which made me frown, it was an unlike Bill move.

"Sergeant Millard."

Now I knew why Bill had left. I span on my heels. "Lt, Speirs." I saluted him.

"I just wanted to say good luck on your first lecture." His face was stern but this didn't take away from the unexpectedly sweet gesture.

I blushed a little which he noticed, indicated by the miniscule lift at the corner of his mouth. "Thank you, sir. I hope the men will find it useful."

He nodded and left to find a seat. My eyebrows rose at his abruptness though I should have been getting used to it.

Gene came and stood in front of me. I frowned. "What are you doing here?" I asked. He was a trained medic, he didn't need to be here.

He smirked his gentle smirk. "Came for some moral support."

I smiled. "Thanks, that's so nice of you." I made to hug him but then remembered where I was. "I'd hug you if we weren't in a tent full of men."

He laughed little. "Do you have all the stuff you need?" he nodded towards the table with my supplies on.

I nodded. "Yeah, I raided the supplies cupboard."

Gene nodded. "Good luck, then."

I smiled. "Thank you." He went and sat down.

The tent was suddenly full, and anxiety swamped me again. I took a deep breath and searched for a friendly face, finding Luz grinning at me from three rows in.

"Right, listen up!" I called to the rowdy crowd, all of them quietening down immediately and turning their attention to me. Another wave came over me as their eyes zeroed in on me, again I searched for a face and found Gene.

"This is your basic medic training lecture, to equip you with the knowledge needed to potentially keep a man alive until a medic can be with you. This will include bullet wounds, shrapnel wounds, stab wounds and impact wounds. You will all have a small medic pack that has the essentials in it." I held up the pack they would have with them for them all to see.

I was distracted momentarily by movement at the entrance flap. My eyes flickered to it to see it was Colonel Sink. I reverted my eyes back to the crowd but my eyes had lost my friendly face, my breathing became stuttered. For a few moments I thought I was gonna pass out until I heard a loud cough. My eyes followed the sound until they met with Toye's, who gave me a nod.

I took a deep breath and continued. "In here is a morphine syrette." I got it out and help it up. "It is simply injected into the bloodstream. Once administered you need to clip the syrette onto the jacket pocket of the wounded solider. If this is not done, the medic may give another morphine shot possibly resulting in the soldier's death from an overdose. If you are unable to clip the syrette on for some reason you should mark them with an M in some way."

The lecture went well with the soldiers participating by asking questions when necessary. Whenever I stumbled, one of my Easy men would make a noise or a movement to grab my attention and help me fight my way out the panic. I don't know what I would have done without them, my love for them growing with every cough and every stretch of their arms.

"So unless there are any other questions, we're done for the day." When no one spoke I went to dismiss them all but before I could Colonel Sink stepped onto the platform next to me. All the men stood at attention.

"Sit, men." He instructed them before turning to me and telling me to join them. I went and sat on the closest bench with room, next to Nix who smiled as I sat.

"You are all completing the assault course in the next hour. This will be the last time before you make the jumps necessary for you to be fully fledge paratroopers." I recoiled slightly. They had managed to keep that under wraps, I thought. "You are leaving for Fort Benning tomorrow. Good luck, men."

In the barracks there was a buzz of excitement about finally making the jumps. I was the same, anticipating earning my jump wings. I was also getting 'well dones' from the men for my lecture which made me beam. I knew I had messed up a few times but felt confident that I could do it again.

I got into my PT gear and turned to Luz. "I have a feeling you know." I told him.

"And what is this feeling?" He asked, tugging on his boot laces.

"That today is the day." I pointed to the ground multiple times to try and put across my point.

"Do you care to expand again or are you just going to keep talking in code?" he drawled.

I smirked at him. "I'm going to make it over the wall."

Luz stood and scooped me under his arm, smiling down at me. "Well with that tone of voice and look of determination, I have zero doubts that you will." He pushed me gently in front of him so that he could tickle my sides making me laugh uncontrollably and struggle to get away.

I grabbed Luz's hands and held them in front of me, my back to his chest. "Come on PT in two minutes, let's move it." I shouted to the barracks, clapping Luz's hands in front of me.

I felt his breath next to my ear. "I like it when you're all staff sergeant-ey."

I turned and pushed him away from me, laughing as I did so. "Shut up, you perv."

Luz winked at me, he really was incorrigible. I shook my head and started to run.

"What's got the Duchess so eager?" I heard Bill say as he came running up to my side.

"Today is the day she is gonna be able to heave that cute ass of hers over the wall." The raspy tone of the voice told me it was Toye, who was then on my other side, he must have heard me tell Luz.

I was surprised to see Sobel on the field dressed in his PT gear, usually he left Winters to carry out PT with him being in charge of us running Curahee. We all fell into line with me being one of those at the front. Since being promoted I had been forced to stand with Lipton, Winters and Nix. It's not that I didn't like them, it just put me more noticeably under Sobel's scrutiny.

Sobel started putting us through the drills, screaming his usual insults to the men. As we got closer to the end, he came to me. Mine were the same as always with a bit of new material; that my lectures were useless. Sobel's insults were easy to shrug off, the man's acceptance wasn't something I was looking for. He stormed off, angry at my lack of reaction which made me smile.

"Up, all of you!" Sobel ordered. We all stood at attention in front of him, panting out our breaths. "You have five minutes till the obstacle course. If any of you don't get through this course in under 17 minutes I swear you will not be part of the paratroopers!" he stormed off towards the assault course. He had changed his demands from 15 minutes when people's times went back up when we completed the course in full gear.

"You know I think you piss him off the most because you don't show any emotion." I turned at the soft voice to see Lip, Nix and Winters behind me.

"Yeah but it's a lose/lose situation." I told the three of them, watching Sobel over my shoulder as he yelled at an orderly. When I turned back round I noticed Bill, Grant, Bull and Malarkey, talking to some of Dog Company who had just finished the assault course.

"How so?" Nix asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Well if I reacted in the way he wanted, he'd verbally assault me to get the reaction from me for his own amusement. But because I don't react, he up's his insults to try and get me to react. There is a silver lining to not reacting though." I felt my lips quirk at the silver lining.

Nix smiled. "You get to see him that pissed off?"

"Mmmm-hmmm. And it never gets old." Nix laughed outright whereas Lip and Winters tried to hide theirs but I knew they were laughing.

I saw Bill waving me over. "Gotta go." I started towards Bill's group. Nix and Winters had told me to stop saluting to them as it was unnecessary in their eyes.

Bill was stood with Grant, Bull and Malarkey. As I approached, Malarkey turned to look at me. "Duch you have to beat the top time on the assault course."

I propped my elbow on Bill's shoulder and leaned into him. "Why?" my brows were furrowed together.

"Because we got a bet on that we can't lose." Bull told me who was chewing on the corner of his thumbnail like he always did when he was missing his cigar.

I smiled. "And the bet involves me beating the best Dog Company time?" I already knew the answer.

"Come on, you know you can do it." Grant pleaded, tugging on my free arm like a little boy begging him mom for chocolate.

I scoffed causing Bill to tickle my side slightly to get me to look at him. "There is some serious items in the pool Duchess. You gotta pull it out the fuckin' bag."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, yeah? What's in there?" They all looked at one another as if they weren't going to tell me, making me laugh. "I'm pretty sure you need to stay on my good side if I'm gonna run like hell for you lot."

"Two bottles of whiskey, some chocolate and a load of smokes." Grant rambled off, desperate for me to be on their side.

"We were gonna be good guys and give the whiskey to the bar for our jump wings celebration." Malarkey informed me with his cute smile.

"Fine, I'm in. But the chocolate is mine, capisce?" they all nodded. "Who has the best time anyway?"

"Easy Company! Line up!" I heard Sobel's voice across the field and I immediately turned to get in line.

Bill flung his arm over my shoulder and tugged me in to whisper in my ear. "Your buddy Speirs." He teased which resulted in me pushing him away from me with a pout.

After all getting into our lines of eight, I found myself closest to Sobel with Grant next to me discussing tomorrow's jumps. Bill had disappeared to the front, saying he wanted to be there when I crossed the finish.

When our row was next, Grant pulled me to swap places with him. "What are you doing?"

He turned to look at Sobel, who was telling people when to set off. "I'm not letting him get a last second dig in that makes you lose concentration." I laughed at how serious this bet was to the guys.

"3…2…1…" I was ready to do this, I wanted to see Speirs's reaction when I beat his time. "Go."

I ran like I had never ran before, with pure determination. I managed to get through the tyre runs and the rope ladders without tripping for the first time which was great, saved me a load of time. My steps didn't slow as I carried on going, not letting anything distract me. I was over-taking plenty of people including Malarkey who cheered for me. When I got to the mud crawl I noticed that there was an addition to the usual sloppy muds: guts of some sort. I ignored them and dragged myself through them with all my might.

The wall was in sight and if I couldn't get over it that was the best time down the toilet. I ran at it like a mad women and clung to the top. I could see the finish line but my arm muscles started to strain painfully. Just as my arms were about to give way I saw Speirs standing by the soldier with the clipboard, staring at the wall as if he was waiting to see someone come over the top. This made me determined and I found some reserved energy to pull myself over. My stomach was pressed against the ridge of the top when I looked up to see him watching me with that dazzling half smirk of his. I swung my leg over and dropped to the ground, catching myself before I fell to a heap and sprinted towards the finished line.

I didn't even think of my time, all I could think of was that I got myself over the wall. Toye was stood at the other side of the line waiting for me so as I crossed, I threw myself into his arms wrapping my legs around his waist in pure happiness. His arms locked round me. I couldn't celebrate this way with the person I wanted but Toye was as good as.

"I made it over the wall!" I yelled, my arms around his neck.

"You did it, Duch." He congratulated me in his raspy voice, an actual smile on his lips.

"What's her time?" I heard. I let go of Toye to find Bill and Bull harassing the clipboard guy. Next to me, Speirs did not look happy, he was actually giving me a dirty look. I didn't know whether he had saw my time and was disappointed I had beat him or was disappointed because I hadn't. The soldiers from Dog Company quickly joined us as well as Luz and Tab as they finished giving their information to another clipboard person.

"When she tells me her name and number I will tell you." The man sounded agitated at my lack of conformity to the system.

I apologised and rattled off my information. Grant and Malarkey made it over the line just as he finished writing it down.

"Okay then, Sergeant Millard you did it in 14…" Bill clutched my hand from one side and my eyes flickered to Speirs whose eyes were trained on me. "…47."

We erupted in raucous cheers, the boys who were in on the bet gloating to the Dog Company privates while Luz hugged me to him and span me round while I laughed. At our cheers more men from Easy came over, hearing the news and pulling me into hugs. I was trying to get away from them all so that I could talk to Speirs but the moment I was out of one hug, I was pulled into another.

Finally, they had all ran off to continue gloating to other men leaving me laughing and alone. I turned to speak to Speirs only to see him walking away. I started to jog to catch up to him, not being able to stop myself.

"Lt Speirs!" I called when I as close enough to not grab people's attention. He turned slowly as I came to a halt, a burning look in his eye that was not a happy or teasing one.

"Yes, sergeant?" his voice was ice cold and biting.

I had to stop myself from stepping back, feeling myself bristle at his tone. "I just wanted to offer my condolences for no longer having the best time." I had hoped this moment would be another brief one where the teasing side would come out of him and the flutter in my stomach that was always there when he was about would grow.

He nodded. I wanted to find out what had put him in his mood but couldn't find the words to ask him. "You shouldn't be acting like that around the men."

"What?" I asked, stunned.

"You are their staff sergeant and it's inappropriate."

I scoffed. "I will act with them the way I want and will continue until they don't follow my orders." I bit back. Despite all our good natured insults and ribbing of one another the men did respect me, they would do what I told them and follow instructions to the letter.

Speirs took a step closer to me. "You think they will respect you when you can't even keep a respectable distance between yourself and them?"

"Respectable distance?" I repeated astonished at how much of a dick he was being. "I hug them, last I heard that is a pretty innocent act."

"You were all over Toye." He ground out.

"Go fuck yourself." I threw my hand over my mouth in shock at what I had just spat at the Lieutenant. I was going to be in so much trouble. Speirs' eyes hardened further.

"Do not talk to me in that way, Sergeant." He ordered, his voice dripping with anger.

"Well don't speak to me at all, Lieutenant and then maybe we won't have this problem." I turned and stormed off, feeling myself shake with anger and annoyance.

Not wanting to speak to anyone while this annoyed I went and sat by myself to attempt to calm down. It only took a few minutes however for the usual group to join me consisting of Bill, Toye, Liebgott, Luz and Tab.

"Whad'ya hear? Whad'ya say Duchess?" Bill asked in his usual greeting as he sat next to me.

I attempted to smile at them but nothing would come, I was too deep in a mood.

"Uh-oh, what's made you grumpy in the last five minutes?" Tab asked from his reclined position across from me.

I shrugged my shoulders not knowing if I wanted to discuss Speirs with these lot.

"I saw you talking to Speirs, did he say summit?" Bill commented, that little smirk on his face.

I guess I was going to have to say something now. "He basically said I need to put distance between myself and you lot so that you can all respect me and that it's inappropriate for me to be hugging you." I grumbled, taking my manic hair out of its bun and shaking it out.

"Fuck what he says, we respect you more than we respect our captain." Liebgott tugged on one of my curls from his position next to me.

They all agreed with him, making me smile a little. I nudged Toye with my foot. "You'd be proud of me though." I told him. Toye was the worst swearer of the group and always loved it when I did.

"I'm always proud of you, but give me a reason to be." Toye was unexpectedly sweet sometimes when he let it show. All the guys 'awwwww'd, teasing him.

"I told him to go fuck himself." They all looked at me shocked.

"Do you have a death wish? Speirs is one of the toughest sons of bitches going and he is a lieutenant." Luz's already large eyes were bulging.

I shrugged my shoulders. "He was being a twat and needed to be called out on it." They had gotten used to my British swear words over our time together and some had actually started using them themselves.

"That's my girl." Bill punched me lightly in the arm, eyeing me fondly.

"Right! That's Easy done for the day. Be ready at 0800 tomorrow for transport to Fort Benning." Winters yelled out to the group, Sobel apparently already gone.

None of our group moved, preferring to stay out in the sun until the rush for the showers was over. I leaned back on my arms, sunning my face. "That's one thing I don't miss about England, the weather. I love the sun here." I told the group.

"Yeah it's great when you're running around in it all day." Luz said sarcastically, making me chuckle.

"What's the weather like in England then?" Liebgott questioned.

"Shitty most of the time, a lot of rain and clouds. It does get sunny sometimes but usually there's a breeze that is freezing."

"What part of England you from? You never told us." Tab questioned, squinting in the sun.

"The south, a place called Aldbourne." I never really talked of home, thinking it would make me miss it but in fact it was refreshing.

"What do you miss about England?" Bill enquired.

I was silent. "Tea." My answer was simple but made them all laugh.

"Your so British sometimes, Duch." Bill laughed, turning and lying down, with his head on my thigh.

I shrugged. "It's true. I don't get why you all love coffee, it tastes like shit."

Bill slapped my hip. "Hey, remember your in American, coffee is an institution that is not to be joked about." He told me sternly before grabbing my hand closest to him and putting it on top of his head, indicating he wanted me to play with his hair.

"What else do you miss about England?" Liebgott asked.

"What's suddenly got you all interested?" I countered

Luz shrugged. "We don't know much about you and you know loads about all of us."

It was true. I knew Luz had Portuguese parents and had 6 sisters and 3 brothers. I knew that Toye's dad made him drop out of school to work at the coal mines but didn't hold a grudge. I knew that Bill's mom was disappointed when he hadn't finished school so he had returned to make her happy. I knew Tab used to work odd jobs in carpentry and on farms. And I knew Liebgott's parents were Austrian and he used to work as a barber. These facts were the tip of the iceberg of what I knew about these men that I considered closest to me.

"I miss my dog." Again I gave a simple answer to ensure that they wanted me to continue.

"What kind of dog is it?" Tab asked.

"He's a Scottish terrier called Archie. He is fat as fuck and like the best dog ever." I smiled fondly, I did miss the little fur ball.

"What else?" Toye probed, wanting to know more.

I smiled at him. "I miss the stables that I used to work in."

"That's what you did? I always wondered what you did before being a nurse." Bill spoke up to me, tapping my hand in a reminder to continue stroking my fingers through his hair.

"I only did it for a year. I left school when I was 15 and lied about my age to train as a nurse at 16, three years later here I am."

"What made you join up to be a nurse?" Luz asked.

I sighed. "Every boy from my village was being enlisted and that's what they were, just boys. I couldn't bear thinking about them getting injured and there not being enough or competent people to look after them so I joined up."

We were all silent for a while. I nudged Bill off my lap before readjusting myself so that I was lay on my front , my head propped up on my arm.

"You never mention your parents." Toye stated. Most of the men spoke about their parents, about how they missed them, how they were worried about them and I never did.

I took Toye's statement as a cue. "My mom was Irish and her parents died when she was young so she grew up in care and then lived by herself in this tiny flat in Dublin. She met my dad who was from Aldbourne and they fell madly in love with each other. They got engaged and pregnant with me but before they could get married my dad died in a car accident." All the men were still, all their attention on me as I told the story of my family. "So my dad's parents asked my mom if she wanted to move to Aldbourne, move in with them so she had the support to raise me. She accepted because she didn't really have any ties to Dublin but she got depressed and killed herself like three months after I was born. My grandparents raised me."

I hadn't noticed I was looking at the ground until I had finished talking. When I looked up again my eyes met Luz's. "Your grandparents sound great."

I nodded and smiled. "They are. They fully supported my decision to become a nurse, they just want me to be happy."

There was some more silence and I could feel that they wanted to ask questions. "How do you feel about what your mom did?" Bill asked softly. I liked that they wanted to get to know me better enough to ask the difficult questions.

"I'm sad that she couldn't cope enough to live and love me but at the same time, from what my Nan says, my dad was her great love. She literally couldn't live without him. I just wish I'd been enough to make her want to live though."

Liebgott rubbed my back from next to me. "Her loss." He whispered.

I smiled sadly. "So, why did you all join the paratroopers?" I asked the group as a whole, wanting to take the attention from me.

"The money." They all said in unison, making me burst out laughing.

The rest of the say was spent laughing and joking, enjoying one another's company, waiting for the day that we finally got out jump wings.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! Thanks to** **drovingallday96!**

* * *

_February, 1943, Fort Benning _

"So do we feel like we are ready to be Army Paratroopers?" The leading sergeant called.

All of Easy were sat looking up as him, weighed down with our packs. "Yes, sergeant!" We yelled back.

"I hope so. This will be the first of five exits from a C-47 aircraft scheduled for today. Upon successful completion of your fifth and final jump, you'll be certified Army Paratroopers. There'll be a lot of men jumping from the sky today, hopefully under deployed canopies." We all chuckled softly at his joke. "Jumping from 100 feet AGL, in sticks of 12 jumpers per aircraft. All you have to do is remember what you were taught. And I guarantee you, gravity will take care of the rest. And gentlemen, rest assured any refusals in the aircraft or at the door and I will guarantee you will be out of the Airbourne."

I was in an aircraft with Bill and Liebgott as well as Sobel. As we boarded I got a rush of excitement. There was no chance I was refusing to jump out of the plane, no way in hell. It seemed too much of a rush to do so. Everyone sat on the benches, I was third in on the right bench in between Liebgott and Bill with Sobel opposite us.

As the plane took off, Sobel's fingers clutched at the bench like he thought he was going to slide right out of the door. His face was a pasty white colour with sweat on his upper lip, all in all he looked shit scared. I nudged Bill and Liebgott with my knee and motioned towards Sobel discreetly. They both looked at him and then back to me grinning, revelling in our evil CO's discomfort.

Once at the correct altitude the jump leader stood up and made his way to the front by the door. "Get ready! Stand up!" he yelled over the noise of the engines. We followed his instructions, standing up and holding our clips up ready. The order went Sobel, Bill, me and then Liebgott.

"Hook up!" We clip our ropes to the wire overhead. I was buzzing with nervous excitement. The leader patted his shoulders. "Check equipment!"

I started to check Bill's equipment, looking for any faults I could see, any loose straps, anything that may cause a malfunction and I could feel Liebgott doing the same to me.

"Sound off equipment check!"

It wasn't long before Liebgott shouted "Four ok!" in my ear and patted my shoulder for me to shout "three ok!" before patting Bill's.

"Stand in the door!" we all moved forward slightly with Sobel ready to jump first. The leader shouted something to him just before the green light switched on prompting him to shout "go!"

Sadly, Sobel didn't refuse which meant he wasn't out the Airbourne but there was a mild hesitation before he jumped out the door. Bill jumped immediately, leaving me in the door way. Everything was so small beneath me, the wind rushing past my face.

The leader yelled "go" at me and I didn't think before I jumped. It was exhilarating, those moments falling through the air before I was jolted backwards by my parachute deploying. Once that was done it was just a matter of floating to the ground while manipulating the chute to ensure I landed in the drop zone. Once I had landed without a hitch, I easily removed my chute, hitting and twisting the valve on my chest before gathering the material together with a massive smile on my face.

A little way from me, Sobel was wrestling with his chute which made me laugh before someone grabbed me around the shoulder. It was Bill, tugging me towards the meet point.

"One down, four to go" He told me, his own smile huge.

I shrugged. "A piece of piss."

And it really was. Five jumps and zero mishaps later I was dressed in my dress greens (now no longer comprising of a skirt but altered trousers) with my jump wings pinned to my jacket.

"1000, 2000, 3000, 4000…" was currently being chanted at Bill and I as we chugged our full beers that had our jump wings at the bottom. "…5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000." The men cheered as I finished my beer, jump wings tucked in-between my teeth. I laughed and turned to Bill who had his wings in the same place as me.

Bill removed his and smiled jovially. "Hi-yo silver!" He shouted.

"I can't believe you can chug a beer like that! Duchess's drink champagne not beer." Liebgott joked, patting me on the back. He took a cigarette from behind his ear and put it in his mouth to light.

"Yeah, well when you grew up where I did you had two pieces of entertainment, alcohol or staring at fields." They all laughed loudly.

"So how does it feel being the first female paratrooper?" Grant asked me, bringing his pint up to his mouth to find it was already empty.

I smirked. "Fucking amazing!" I yelled yet the room was so loud, no one but our table would have heard me. I patted Bill on the shoulder. "I'll get us another."

I walked over to the bar, passing Frank ribbing Johnny. I stumbled a little; that downed pint going to my head. When I got to the bar, Luz the self-appointed bar tender was talking to Toye who was leant against the bar.

"Corporal Toye, there will be no leaning in my company." I heard Luz say in a Sobel impression. I came to stand next to Toye, our shoulders brushing as he straightened himself up. I laughed at Luz's impression.

"Are those dusty jump wings?" Luz continued to me, pointing at my wings that I had repined onto my jacket on the way over. Both Toye and I looked down at my wings, and Toye reached over and rubbed them with his thumb to get rid of the imaginary dust. "How do you expect to slay the Huns with dust on your jump wings?!"

Toye leant over the bar and fisted Luz's jacket bringing him forward slightly. "Luz, just get me and the Duchess a drink." He murmured, his voice husky and sexy.

Luz smirked. "Hell of an idea, Joe." He handed both of us a beer before getting one for himself. He held his up for us to clink with our own. "Three miles up, three miles down." I smiled at the two of them before clinking my glass to theirs.

"Ten-Hut!" rang through the room and we all stood to attention, some of the men tottering in their drunken state.

Colonel Sink was stood at the front. "Well, at ease, paratroopers." Everyone relaxed slightly, legs shoulder width apart and hands tucked behind their back. "Good evening, Easy Company."

Being reminded it was just Easy Company in the room, made my heart lift and drop at the exact same time. I hadn't spoken to Speirs since our heated argument and that was over 6 weeks ago and I hadn't seen him as much. The few times we were in the same room as one another, I always attempted to keep my eyes off of him. However the temptation was too much at times and my eyes would find him but he was never looking at me. I was disappointed he wasn't here because I enjoyed the feeling in my stomach when he was about but was also glad he wasn't as it prevented me from potentially embarrassing myself when drunk.

"Good evening, sir." The group replied as one.

"Now, the parachute infantry is a brand new concept in American Army history. But by God, the 506 is gonna forge the brand new concept into victory!"

"Yes, sir!"

Sink looked around the room. "I want you to know I am damn proud of each and every one of you. Now, you deserve this party." Grant stepped forward and handed Sink a full pint of beer. "Thank you, Sergeant Grant."

Grant nodded. "Sir."

"So I want you to have fun and remember our motto…" he held up his pint. "…Curahee!"

Everyone who had a drink raised it in the air and replied with a shout of "Curahee!"

I turned back to talk to Toye and Luz when my name was called. I turned to see it was Colonel Sink, motioning for me to follow him out of the room.

Once outside he stopped and turned to me. "Sergeant Millard, how do you think your lectures are going?" He asked.

Since being at Benning I had given lectures to numerous companies as well as smaller lectures to medics as an intense refresher course. "They are going well. When I give a scenario to the men at the end they are all able to give the correct response to it so they seem to be retaining the information."

Sink nodded. "I've also seen you leading some of the men in their jump training."

"Yes, the leaders of some of the exercises thought it was necessary for some of the men to be given extra training and I offered my services." I couldn't see where this conversation was going.

"I think it's fair to say the men listen to you, they respect you and they trust you. Because of this I'm promoting you."

It was just like the first time I was promoted, I forgot how to breathe again. Some of the men had been promoted today and I had congratulated them all but never had I thought I was going to be promoted again. I thought my climbing the ranks had ended at staff sergeant.

"You are Easy's new second lieutenant." He handed me the gold bar that came with my promotion. When I looked up from the bar nestled in my hand, Sink was looking at me with sad eyes. "I feel it necessary to tell you however that this is a far into the ranks as you are probably going to get. Others are already not happy about you having this position so you need to do me proud." He gave me fatherly smile.

I exhaled finally. "Believe me, sir, I never thought I'd be made a sergeant let alone a lieutenant. Thank you so much." I beamed at him.

He nodded before saluting me and leaving. I quickly attached the bar to my collar before returning to the men. I walked to the bar where Toye still was to get a beer. He turned to see me as I approached.

"Duch, I kept you beer safe." He held it out to me but I saw his eyes drop to my collar. His eyebrows rose and his lips curved. "Or should I say Lieutenant Duch." He put my beer down and pulled me into a hug.

"I can't actually believe it." I told him once he had released me from the hold.

"Well you should, you're one of the best we've got." He reached over the bar and smacked Luz on the back to grab his attention.

"Joe, I think you have a drinking problem if you are resorting to violence to get it."

I laughed as Joe frowned. "Shut up and salute your Lieutenant."

"Hate to break it to you but you're a corporal." Luz told him, giving him a fake pitying look. Luz looked to me with a smirk, before he noticed the bar on my collar. A smile grew on his face as he came round the front of the bar. "Congrats, Duch." He pulled me in for a hug. He held me at arm's length after I had thanked him. He had a cheeky smile on his face that glittered in his eyes. "I best make the announcement."

He started to stand on a chair. "George, no don't." I felt myself flush as I tugged on his arm to try and get him down.

"Listen up!" He yelled. He took my hand off his wrist and pulled me in front of him, resting his hands on my shoulders. "The Duchess is now 2nd Lieutenant Duchess!" His voice at the end of his sentence was drowned out by applause and cheers. Bill came lumbering over to me, hugging me tight. Tab soon followed who saluted me, making me laugh.

I was a 2nd Lieutenant of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airbourne Division. It was insane that I was here and had took so much work but I was proud and happy and didn't want to be anywhere else.

_June 23, 1943, Camp Macknall, N.C_

I was huddled in a ditch next to Liebgott on an army manoeuvres task. A task that Sobel was currently fucking up as usual.

"I'll bet a pack of smokes he makes us move from this position." Liebgott murmured, quiet enough for only me to hear.

I shook my head. "I swear the man doesn't know his arse from his elbow."

Before Liebgott could reply Sobel whispered loudly. "Petty! Map! Come on!"

I sighed heavily. Sobel checked the map obsessively though I seriously doubted he could read it. As if to prove me right, I heard Sobel mutter "we're in the wrong position." Winters came from his position to speak to Sobel, only for him to repeat his observation.

"We're in text book position for ambush, sir. I think we should sit tight, let the enemy come into our killing zone." Winters advised wisely, the smartest option possible for the fucked up position we were in.

Sobel pointed past Winters shoulder. "They're right out there somewhere." He tapped Winters on the shoulder, looking excited. "Let's just get them!"

I rolled my eyes and heard a scoff come from Liebgott. "Sir, we have perfect cover here." Winters tried to reason with him, again giving the best option.

Sobel's face hardened at Winters trying to question him. "Lieutenant, deploy your troops."

Winters watched Sobel walk away before giving the annoying and suicidal order of "2nd Platoon, move out!" in a loud whisper. Men looked to one another, realising the stupidity of this move. I looked to Liebgott who shook his head in anger. "Tactical column!"

2nd platoon heaved themselves out of the ditch, crouching low and following Sobel out of cover. It took less than a minute to walk into enemy territory, with camouflaged soldiers emerging from the bushes, their guns raised at us.

Liebgott nudged me in the arm. "Looks like you won't have too hard a job nursey 'cause we're all dead on sight." He whispered at me, his tone edged with anger.

The drill leader came forward. "Captain you've just been killed along with 95% of your company." The dissatisfaction was evident in his voice. He held up his clipboard ready to write. "Your outfit?"

I looked around the men as Sobel answered. Anger was the main emotion evident on their faces, with Toye looking ready to beat Sobel to death with his rifle. But there was another emotion, they looked slightly fearful and I understood why. With Sobel's poor decision making, he was going to get them killed yet there didn't seem to be a way to get a new CO.

Later that day, I was in the barracks with Nixon and Winters discussing Sobel while packing up to move out. Since being made a 2nd Lieutenant, I had had to move barracks away from the men. Sobel said it was so that I could remain a respectable distance but in reality it was because he knew how much I enjoyed rooming with the men, though Nix and Winters weren't bad company.

"Ehhh, what are you going to do?" Nix asked Winters, blasé about the situation.

"Nothing, just keep training the men." Winters replied.

I was sat with my feet propped up on a box. "Yeah, but that isn't enough. No matter how good their training is, if they are giving a suicidal command they have to follow it."

"Am I interrupting?" A voice asked from the doorway. I turned in my seat to see a short man with curly brown hair.

Winters and I stood from our seats and Nixon stepped forward. "No, no. Lt. Lewis Nixon, Lt. Katie Millard," Winters motioned towards the new comer. "Lt. Harry Welsh, just in from the 82nd."

Harry held his hand out for me to shake first. "So you're the female paratrooper."

I looked down at myself. "Yes it seems I am."

Harry smirked. "You're causing quite the stir throughout the army. Everyone is talking about you."

I smiled. "All good things I hope."

"Nothing but the best." Harry held his hand out for Nix to shake. "Congratulations on the promotion."

Nix smiled. "Well thanks. If you want to call it that." He caught my eye making me smirk. He motioned towards Winters. "You'll learn him pretty quick. No flaws, no vices, no sense of humour."

I couldn't help but chuckled at this. Nix and Winters were the opposite of one another; Winters straight-laced and Nix a borderline alcoholic yet they worked as best friends.

"Just like your chums up at Battalion staff?" Winters retorted. "What's up?" He asked Harry.

"I'm hearing a lot of rumblings." Harry told the three of us.

"Sobel?" I suggested which Harry nodded to.

"We were just talking about that." Nix informed him.

"So, he gets a little jumpy in the field?"

I scoffed. "A little?"

"He gets jumpy, then you get killed." Nix joked humourlessly.

"That's nice…" harry started but Winters cut him off.

"Yeah, listen if we discuss it, I think it should just be amongst ourselves."

Both Nix and I nodded, with Harry saying "absolutely."

Suddenly, Sobel appeared in the doorway. We all stood to attention as he chewed on an apple.

"2nd platoon ready?"

"Ready, sir." Winters answered.

Sobel stared at us for a moment. "Then get them in formation. We're moving out."

"Yes, sir."

Sobel's eyes scanned us suspiciously before he took another bite out of his apple and left.

I exhaled. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." I joked making the three of them laugh. "I'm gonna go rally the troops." I told Winters. I started towards to the door before turning back to Harry. "Nice to meet you."

He smiled. "You too."

I made my way outside to find the men already loading up the trucks, dressed in their official greens. Bull easily threw his pack onto the back of a truck like it weighed nothing before talking to Luz.

"Mind if I ride with you guys?" I asked the two of them, attempting to lift my pack onto the truck. Bull took it off me immediately and I smiled my thanks.

"It would be our pleasure." Luz smiled.

"Shut up, Cobb." I heard Toye's annoyed voice a little way from where I was stood. I looked to see he was sat on the floor with Cobb, Popeye and Shifty. I crouched next to Shifty, patting him on the shoulder to tell him I was next to him. He gave me a small smile before Cobb started talking in his self-important voice.

"You gotta admit, he's got no chance. Either the Krauts will get him, or one of us."

Liebgott came and crouched next to Cobb. "Who? Sobel?"

"He screwed up one manoeuvre." Shifty's soft voice came.

I patted him on the shoulder again. "If he screws up one manoeuvre in action though, Shifty it's going to have big consequences." I warned not wanting to state that those consequences would be the death of good men.

"Ah, you know I'm always fumbling with grenades… would be easy if one went off by accident you know…" Liebgott joked making us all smile except Shifty.

"Well they must have put him in charge for a reason." Shifty defended, tearing at a blade of grass. I understood why he was defending Sobel, it was to give himself hope in the leadership that was taking them into war.

"Yeah, 'cause the Army wouldn't make a mistake would they, Shifty?" Liebgott asked sarcastically.

_September 6__th__, 1943, Brooklyn Naval Shipyard_

The dock was bursting with soldiers everywhere and everyone looked the same, it was a bit unnerving. It was even more unnerving because I had lost Easy and was currently trying to find someone I knew.

"Guarnere! Tab! Lieb!" I went through their names, yelling them in hope one of them would find me while I scanned the crowd looking for one of their faces. I had got separated when Sobel had sent me on some useless errand, I think in hopes that I would get lost.

"Hey, girlie?" someone grabbed my arm from behind, pulling me up against them. "What do you think you're doing dressed as a soldier?" it was a soldier I had never met or seen before, his eyes raking over me. Usually in a helmet, it was easier to cover my gender but with my hair down it was blindingly obvious.

I tried to pull my arm from his but he just tightened his hold. "Private, release me now and make your way back to your outfit." I ordered in a tone I wasn't used to using.

He chuckled but before he could say whatever sleazy comment he had dreamed up, a hand fisted in his jacket. "Take your fucking hand off her now or you going to get to know my fist real well." A voice rasped. It was Toye stood with Bull and Martin.

The man released me immediately, looking a little nervous. Toye shoved him into the crowd before turning to me. "Can't leave you alone for two minutes, can we Duch?" he tucked me under his arm, leading me towards the boat.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm a beacon for trouble."

"Well, stay with us." Martin ordered, scoping around for trouble.

Bull nodded. "We may be used to you but all these lot aren't."

I quickly remembered the news I had to tell them. I smacked Toye in the shoulder excitedly and he looked at me like I was insane. "What? What's the issue?"

"Nix let slip where we are being stationed in England! Guess where it is!" I was smiling manically. The three of them shrugged. "Aldbourne!"

"What, your home town?" Bull asked. I nodded.

"That's great! We get to meet your grandparents." Toyel nudged me in the shoulder.

I laughed. "Only if you stay on my good side." I sighed. "I haven't seen them in two years." I told them sadly.

Toye rubbed my shoulder. "You get too see them now, that's what matters."

By this point we were on the gangway, shuffling our way forward. Bull had pushed me in front of him so I was behind Toye with Martin at my side. I felt like I was under a protection detail.

Once of the gangway a life jacket was thrust over my head by Toye who smirked at the sight. It was oversized due to me being a girl. We shuffled till we were by the railing to get away from the stifled air.

Martin took one look at me and burst out laughing, making me frown. "Sorry Duch but you look like it's trying to eat you."

We chatted a while about going to Aldbourne and Sobel's dire leadership. Liebgott, Tab and Muck joined us as the ship got busier. Everyone was so tightly back it was inevitable people were going to get separated and bump into each. Sadly for me being smaller than the rest it meant that a bump from a soldier would send me flying. After this happening a couple of times, Tab got fed up of it. He pulled me in front of him, up against the railing with my back facing his chest and put his hands either side of me to keep me protected.

I smiled, turning my head to the side so he could see. "Thank you."

"Can't have our nurse being knocked overboard." He ruffled my hair before putting his hand back on the railing.

The boat suddenly started, jolting me to the side but Tab caught me. Soon we were going past the Statue of Liberty and I was mesmerised.

"Bet you never thought you'd see this, did ya?" Muck asked, watching me stare at the statue.

I shook my head. "When I was young I always wanted to travel but then as I got older I never thought I'd have the chance to." I looked at Muck who had a small smile on his face as he listened. "Maybe that's a silver lining of this war for me anyway, I do get to go other places other than England."

"You're such an optimist you know." Liebgott told me from behind Muck.

I shoved him in the shoulder. "Better than being a fucking misery like you." I joked. The three of them laughed. "I'm gonna go downstairs, I kinda want a nap." I ducked under Tab's arm and made towards the stairs that lead to the belly of the boat but was stopped by hands on my waist. I went to punch whoever the hands belonged to but my hand was caught before it could make contact.

"Wow, Duch!" It was Liebgott, who had a smile plastered on his face. "At least we know you could defend yourself."

"Oh my God, Lieb. Give a girl a heart attack why don't you?" I started laughing at the fact I was about to punch one of my friends.

We walked down the stairs while Liebgott glared at any man who dared look at me. "Don't go walking round the ship on your own. For once I'm gonna say please to make you agree."

I laughed a little, tugging my life jacket off and chucking it on a pile of them. "Believe me, I don't have any plans to." I told him honestly. I did not want to be left alone with a bunch of men I didn't know, ironic considering how that was how I met all of Easy.

"Come on, some of them are already down there, including Bill and Toye."

We ventured further into the belly until we finally got to where he bunks were. It was ridiculously loud due to the pure amount of soldiers stacked on top of one another. Literally, the bunks were stacked one on top of the other, all of them filled. There was a layer of smoke in the room that, if I hadn't been used to rooming with smokers, I would have been choking. We had to push our way through a valley of beds, with Lieb batting away any hands coming out to grab me. Finally a congregation of Easy Company came in to view.

"Of course, Easy is stationed in the middle of the fucking room!" I moaned, leaning against Toye's bunk. His hands snaked around my waist and tugged me onto his bunk. He lay back down with his head on his pack and me leant against his legs with my own dangling over the edge.

I leaned forward to see Muck and Malarkey were shuffling down through the beds and I could just make out Muck's voice.

"Right now some lucky bastards on his way to the South Pacific. He's gonna get billeted on some tropical island, sit under a palm tree with six naked native girls, helping him cut up coconuts so he can hand feed them to the flamingos."

I laughed softly as what Muck thought the South Pacific would bring to those on their way.

"Flamingos are mean; they bite." A Latino soldier told us as if he had personal experience with flamingos.

Sisk shook his head slightly as he drunk from his flask. "So do the naked native girls."

"With any luck." Frank commented as he walked past me.

I pushed him with my boot. "Don't be a perv."

Frank pointed at Sisk and Muck. "They said it first." He accused like a child.

I smiled. "Yeah but I couldn't reach them with my boot." Muck had already climbed up three bunks and Malarkey had rolled over another soldier to his own bunk.

"Hey guys, I'm glad I'm going to Europe." Toye started, bringing out a switchblade and opening it. "Hitler gets one of these right across the windpipe, Roosevelt changes Thanksgiving to Joe Toye day and pays me $10,000 a year for the rest of my fucking life."

I chuckled and patted him on the thigh. "It's nice to know you have ambitions Toye." I told him sarcastically with those who had heard chuckling.

"What if they don't send us to Europe? What if they send us to North Africa?" Smokey asked from his bunk above Bill.

"My brothers in North Africa; says it's hot." Bill replied while smoking his cigarette. He was in the bunk next to Toye's of course; the two of them were not to be separated.

"Really? It's hot in Africa?" Malarkey's teasing remark came from behind a magazine and made me chuckle. I didn't care about how hot it was in Africa, I cared about how hot it was on this damn boat. I shrugged my jacket off, throwing it at the end of Toye's bed, and rolled up my sleeves while Bill continued the conversation.

"Shut up. Point is, it don't matter where we go. Once we get into combat, the only person you can trust is yourself and the fellow next to you."

Toye rolled over onto his front so that he could look at Bill when he replied. Problem was this almost knocked me off the bunk and onto a heap on the floor. Luckily, Luz was just walking past and he caught me, pushing me back up again. I slapped Joe on back for his idiocy while he replied to Bill. "Hey, as long as he's a paratrooper."

"Oh, yeah?" this came from Luz who was currently climbing to his bunk that was basically by the ceiling. "What if that paratrooper turns out to be Sobel?"

"Then God fucking help you." I stated.

"If I'm next to Sobel in combat, I'm moving down then line. Hooking up with some other officer like Heyliger or Winters." Christenson said from just below Luz.

"I like Winters, he's a good man. But when the bullets start flying I don't know if I want a Quaker doing my fighting for me." I wrinkled my nose at Bill's prejudice as he stood up from his bunk.

"How do you know he's a Quaker?" Muck asked, dangling upside down like a monkey and sharing a cigarette with Malarkey.

"He ain't Catholic."

"Neither is Sobel." Malarkey informed, returning is attention back to his magazine.

"That prick's a son of Abraham." Bill stood on his finished cigarette while I stilled at his words. My eyes darted to Liebgott who was sat on his own bunk with his legs dangling and had suddenly tensed.

"He's what?" Liebgott asked, his voice riddled with held back anger.

Bill looked up at him. "He's a Jew."

"Oh, fuck…" Liebgott muttered, throwing his cigarette to the ground and jumping from his bunk to stand in front of Bill with little distance between them. "…I'm a Jew." Some of the men started to move forward, ready to intervene.

"Congratulations… now get your nose out of my face." Bill ordered, shoving Liebgott back.

A fire was lit in Liebgott as he launched at Bill, grabbing him in a head lock and punching him in the jaw. I leapt forward, ready to get in between them but Toye grabbed me before I could get close. "Don't get involved." He ordered me. Bill managed to land a hit to Liebgott's stomach, getting him to release his head lock before laying into his face.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Like I'm going to let two of my best friends beat each other up." I pulled his hands off me, jumping from the bed and attempting to get in between them. It took a while because I had to get past the soldiers who were egging them on and those who were trying to split them up but finally I had a hand on either one of their chests and found enough strength to push them apart a little.

"Stop it!" I yelled, grabbing both their attentions. Liebgott tried to get to Bill around me so I put my hands on his chest and pushed. "Take a walk!" I pointed behind me fiercely.

"It was him…" he started to accuse but I cut him off, pointing behind him again.

"Go!" I shouted. He sighed heavily and stormed off, forcing himself through the crowd harshly.

I turned to Bill who was staring at me, waiting for whatever I was going to say. "Look, I love you Bill but can't you think about what you say sometimes?"

He looked down at the floor sheepishly. "Sorry, Duch."

"It's not me you need to apologise to." I took his chin in my hand and tilted his head to the side to see where Liebgott had hit him. "Go see if you can get ice for that."

He smiled sadly. "Will do."

I turned and left to follow in the direction Liebgott had took, walking quickly to catch up to his and dodge the hands. I found him by the railings again, staring at the sea as if it had committed a wrong against him. I went and stood next to him, resting my head on his shoulder and rubbing his back comfortingly. He was still tense and breathing heavily.

"You ok?" I asked lamely.

"Do you know how hard it is? The prejudice, everyone making jokes and you're the punchline." He took a pack of Lucky Stripes from his pocket but couldn't light it, his hands shaking. I took it off him, lighting it before handing it back to him.

"Bill didn't mean anything bad to begin with, he was just saying Sobel was a Jew."

He rounded on me suddenly. "Are you saying I overreacted?" he demanded.

"Yeah, I am."

"You don't get it at all!" he shouted, turning back to the railing.

"I'm a woman in the army, you think I'm not the butt of jokes or haven't faced my own share of prejudice?" I kept my voice soft as to not rile him any further. When he didn't say anything I continued. "I'm not say you were the only one in the wrong, Bill shouldn't have said what he did but I don't want my friends fighting."

He gave me a sideways glance. "Sorry for yelling." He apologised grumpily.

I smiled. "It's fine, I can live without my ear drums."

He laughed lightly before pulling me into a hug. "What would I do without you, Duch?"

I hugged him back tightly. There was a cough from the side, a cough made to catch someone's attention. We ended the hug to see it was Bill, looking awkward.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said. I was being a dick and deserved a hit for it." Bill stuck his hand out for Liebgott to shake, a piece offering. I was surprised, I expected him to sulk for a while longer before apologising.

Liebgott put his hand in Bill's and shook it. "Sorry I over reacted."

I clapped the two of them on the back. "We happy families again?" They both nodded, smirking at one another. "Good 'cause it's too damn hot for this drama."

As we walked back down to the bunks again, they two of them started complimenting one another on their fighting ability and suggesting techniques. I shook my head and sighed. "Men." I muttered to myself.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! Thank you to LeeteukkieLover!**

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_September 12__th__, 1943, Aldbourne, England_

Easy and Dog Company were the only companies to be stationed in Albourne, with the other companies being stationed in neighbouring towns. Soldiers had to be stationed with families who had room as there was not enough space for barracks or tents with the additional space needed for training.

"You were wrong about the weather, Duch." Bill came to stand next to me in the crowd. The sun was shining and there was no freezing breeze. We were stood outside waiting for our house assignments, I was buzzing with excitement knowing that my grandparents were two streets over but hand no idea I was here.

I chuckled. "Well enjoy it while you can, I'm telling you from here on out it will be bleak."

"Aren't you supposed to rave about your country and not complain?" Christenson asked.

"Hey, I'm not denying that this is the best country in the world, I'm just telling the truth about the shitty weather."

I suddenly got repeatedly patted on the shoulder. "What? What is it Luz?" I grabbed his wrist to stop him hitting me. It was at that point I became aware to some barking in the background; we were by the church so it was probably the priest's dog.

"Didn't you say you had a fat Scotty dog?" He asked, his eyes peering through the crowd.

I smiled, unable to stop myself. "Yeah, can't wait to see him."

"You'll see him sooner than you think cause he is currently barking at Speirs." He told me, the laughter evident in his voice as he pointed through the crowd to where my dog was. He was stood on his stubby legs, barking at Speirs who was looking at him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement while those who had noticed were looking worriedly at the dog, not knowing how Speirs would react.

"Shit!" I exclaimed and started pushing my way through the crowd, abandoning my pack. Once I had got close enough I called him. "Archie!" he looked at me, wagging his tail ferociously and my heart melted, he really was the cutest thing. Instead of coming over to me, he returned his attention back to Speirs and continued barking. Speirs was looking at me oddly and went to take a step towards me but Archie stepped in front of him and barked.

I rushed over to Archie and scooped him up as best I could. He stopped barking and started to lick my face, struggling in my arms with excitement. I laughed. "Yeah I missed you to."

"He's your dog?" Speirs asked, his voice as stern as ever, dragging my attention from Archie who I continued to fuss on top of the head. I hadn't expected him to speak to me, we hadn't since our argument all the way back in Toccoa. The fizzy feeling started in my stomach from him being near.

I nodded in response. "I'm guessing you're from Aldbourne then if this is your dog?"

"Yep, home, sweet home." I muttered.

Speirs sighed heavily. "Look, I wanted to apologise for what I said back in Toccoa. It was uncalled for especially seeing as the men respect you more than most officers."

I was shocked, so shocked a little laugh escaped. "Well, I'm sorry for what I said to you. It was rude and unprofessional."

Speirs reached out and started to fuss Archie who had suddenly took a liking to him. He cocked his head to the side. "You didn't expect me to apologise, did you?" he eyes were boring into me, making me feel funny.

I shook my head. "Why would you, sir?" It was true, there was no reason for him to apologise; I was in a different company to him and was of a lower rank.

"Because then maybe you would talk to me again." If I had said this to someone, I wouldn't be able to look them in the eye but he held my gaze.

"Maybe I will." My voice came out all soft, a voice I hadn't heard in a while. I blushed causing Speirs to smirk slightly. He liked being able to affect me and I couldn't blame him. I like that I could make him smirk, something he never did around the men.

Archie started struggling again in my arms because I wasn't paying enough attention to him. I laughed at his big sad eyes which lit up when I stroked him. I looked back to Speirs and he was watching me interact with my dog.

"You have a beautiful smile." he murmured. His words seem to hit him like a tonne of bricks. He immediately hardened, fitting himself back into the role of big bad Lt. Spiers. He left me stood there with my dog, glowing under his compliment but with whiplash at his quick change of personality.

I put Archie down and started to walk back to the men, patting my leg so that he would follow. Tab was crouched down and was patting his legs, which prompted Archie to run over to him immediately.

"I swear that dog has no loyalties. He hasn't seen me in getting on three years yet give him someone willing to give him a fuss and he'll ditch me." I complained.

Tab laughed. "What can I say, dogs love me."

"They also love to lick their on arses so don't get too excited." I bit back, making Shifty and Frank laugh.

"Cute dog." Frank commented. "What did Speirs say?" Tab stood from petting Archie to listen better.

I shrugged, averting my eyes from theirs. "Just told me to keep an eye on Archie."

Frank nodded, seemingly contempt with my answer and turned to talk to Martin. Tab looked at me strangely before leaning in to whisper. "You know I can tell when you're lying. What did he really say that made you blush?"

Luckily before I had to answer, Archie ran off into the crowd. Usually I would leave him to it, he often wondered around and then made it back home but with the constant stream of vehicles coming through and the need for an excuse to leave Tab, I ran after him calling his name. He got all the way to the front before stopping in front of Nix, wagging his tail.

"Archie." I scolded, picking him back up to make sure he didn't run away again.

"Friend of yours?" Nix asked, smiling as he looked at the clipboard he was holding.

"More like enemy at the moment."

"Might as well give you your address seeing as your now at the front." He looked down the list and gave the address of Mrs Lamb.

I nodded. I hadn't gotten my hopes up that I'd be stationed with my grandparents because the probability of that happening was so low. "Who's billeted with the Millard's?" It was widely known throughout Easy that I was from Aldbourne, I had been too excited about my return to keep quiet.

"That would be…" he flicked through the sheets. "…Lieutenant Speirs from Dog Company."

I repressed the smile I felt growing. I was happy we would be spending a little time together considering I would be spending more time at my grandparents then at Mrs Lamb's. "Thanks, Nix."

I carried Archie back through the crowd, he was happy at the amount of fuss's he was getting. I finally found Bill and Luz and they had been kind enough to lug my pack with them.

"You rescued him from the wrath of Speirs then?" Luz asked.

"Not much wrath to be honest." I put Archie on the ground and he immediately started rubbing against Bill. "He's stationed with my grandparents."

Bill raised his eyebrows "Guess you'll be spending some time with him them." There was a twinkle in his eye illustrating that I was one wrong comment away from him teasing me.

"Seems so." I replied nonchalantly. I picked up my pack and slung it over my shoulder. "I'm gonna drop my pack off and then go to my grandparents so I'll see you later."

I walked on, making sure Archie was following. Mrs Lamb's was on the way to my grandparents so I quickly dropped off my pack and explained why I was leaving so quickly and she completely understood.

It basically ran with Archie running next to me. When I got to the white front door with the roses growing up the porch, I wasn't sure whether to knock or just to walk in. I decided to knock, not wanting to surprise them by just walking in. A few seconds later I could hear the soft footsteps that I recognised as my grandpas and the door was swung open. Archie immediately went running in past him yet he didn't notice because he was talking behind his shoulder but I was too happy to see him to hear what he said. He was dressed is dark brown trousers, a crisp shirt and a colourful knitted tank top that my grandmother would have knitted. In his left hand he held his pipe that he was never far away from yet was hardly ever lit, he just used it to point and chew on. His face clean shaven except for the thick, white moustache that was curled at the ends.

When his eyes met mine, they widened theatrically. My eyes were prickling with unexpected tears as I watched him react to seeing me after all this time.

"Hi grandpa." That was the best I could do. He quickly enveloped me in a bone crushing hug, the smell of mint surrounded me as I clutched to him like a lifeline. After a long while he let me go, holding me at arm's length.

"What are you doing back here, Red?" his voice was the same gruffness that I could remember, comforting like nothing else. He had called me Red even before my hair had grown in according to my Nan due to my Irish blood and how red I would go when I cried as a baby.

"My company is stationed here." I told him simply.

"Your company." He repeated proudly, looking my ratty uniform up and down. "Why are you still on the doorstep, get in here."

I smiled as he dragged me into the cottage I grew up in. It was a comfortable and moderate home, the walls covered in artwork, every surface having either a throw or some family photos on it. Soon enough we were in the kitchen where my Nan was speaking to someone. I didn't see who it was as my eyes were on my Nan who hadn't noticed me. She was wearing a blue dress with a thin grey cardigan over the top and brown brogues. Her fluffy grey hair was styled into its usual curls and her cat eye glasses were in place as she bustled around the kitchen cooking what looked to be an apple pie.

"Irene." My grandpa murmured, it was enough to grab her attention and her eyes found me.

"Katie." She breathed before rushing over to me and hugging me. She smelt like fresh air and apples. I buried my nose into her shoulder, holding her tightly. I didn't know how I had lasted this long without seeing them, I loved them so much.

She let me go, holding my cheeks between her hands. "Darling, I have missed you more than you can imagine."

She used her thumb to wipe a tear that had escaped down my cheek. "I'm sorry it's been so long, I shouldn't have left it so long."

Nan shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous! Your living your life how it should be lived." She looked me up and down. "Bloody hell, you look like my grandson not my granddaughter."

I laughed. "The army doesn't really do feminine clothing."

There was a cough from behind my Nan and I looked over her shoulder. It was Speirs, I hadn't expected him to be here already.

My Nan smiled. "Katie have you met Lieutenant Speirs. He will be staying with us."

"Mrs Millard, please call me Ron." The polite tone was one I had never heard before.

I looked to Speirs who was watching me with soft eyes. I raised an eyebrow. "Ron?" I questioned teasingly. I'd never known his first name and was amused to find it out. He nodded with a small smirk. He really was just too attractive. "Yes we have met Nan, we were both at Toccoa in Georgia."

"Mrs Millard, I'm going to leave you to it, I don't want to intrude."

"Of course, dear." I snorted at Nan calling Speirs 'dear', it was just so odd. "Supper will be ready for about 6 so make sure your back."

I expected him to say not to bother but he instead he agreed to be back on time. He left quickly, obviously slightly uncomfortable to be part of the family reunion. Once he had left, my Nan pushed me to sit in one of the kitchen chairs with Archie at my feet.

"You look like you need a cuppa." Nan stated, immediately pouring me cup out of the pot.

I added two sugars, a splash of milk and then sipped, groaning as I did so. "You have no idea how much I have missed tea."

They both sat and watched me finish my tea quickly. "So, how are you?" My grandpa asked, chewing his pipe.

I smiled at his simple question. "Tired but I have honestly never been better."

My Nan smiled. "Your glowing you're so happy. The rest of the soldiers aren't giving you any problems though?"

"They are great, I have made so many friends. The only issue is my captain who seems to have an innate issue with me."

We talked non-stop for three hours, recounting my training tales, describing my friends, we covered every topic over countless cups of teas. In the end, Nan ordered me to have a shower and get dressed for dinner. I trudged up the stairs, getting towels from the airing cupboard and making my way to the bathroom.

I contemplated taking a bath but concluded it would take too long so instead turned on the shower. I hadn't showered since two days before getting on the boat and was surprised my Nan had made me bathe earlier; she must have really missed me. I took a while to wash every inch of my body in apple scented soap, it was so different from the basic army soap I was used to. For one it actually lathered. Once I was clean, I wrapped a towel around me, realising I had picked up the wrong size so that it only fell to mid-thigh. I used another towel to rub some of the water out of my hair before leaving it dry by itself.

Looking at my dirty uniform I thought that the last thing I wanted was to put it back on. All my other uniforms were back at Mrs Smiths but my civilian clothes would still be in my room. Knowing that this is where Speirs was staying, I checked the clock that was across the hall to see if it was likely that he would be back yet. It was only 5:40 so I didn't think he would be back yet so went into my room to find some clothes.

My room was small, with my double bed dominating most of the room, a wardrobe in one corner and then a chest of drawers next to it. I went over to the chest of drawers, opening it to find my newspaper clippings about nurses in the war to still be there. I had cut them out of newspapers and magazine, longing to be one of them. I put the back in their place and opened my wardrobe, running my hands across the numerous pieces of clothing. I wasn't very girly so didn't actually have many dresses. I had always preferred trousers and had more pairs of them than I did dresses, it was easier to horse ride and work in them. I chose a pair of light brown trouser, a blue and white striped blouse and blue cardigan to wear, putting them on the bed.

I had chosen a silk lilac underwear set to wear, revelling in the feel and the girly look of them. That was one thing I was girl about, my underwear. I had just finished putting them on when the door swung open with Speirs walking in while flicking through some envelopes. I let out a girly squeal that caught his attention, his eyes crashing with the flesh on show in my underwear. He looked to my face, his eyes heated, making me feel warm all over and not from embarrassment. His eyes dropped again to my skin, eyeing all the important areas before he collected himself and turned round.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in here." His voice was husky and sexy making me flush further.

"It's completely my fault, I didn't think you'd be back yet." I stammered. He quickly left the room, leaving me feeling strange all over. I found myself wondering if he liked what he saw.

I dressed in my clothes; the trousers were waist high and fairly tight as they were made for horse riding but I had always wore them leisurely, earning me some odd stares throughout the town. I tucked my shirt into the trousers, throwing the cardigan on and my brown boots, tucking my trouser legs into them. When I left the room, I found the bathroom door was shut, indicating that this is where Speirs had gone. I re-joined my grandparents in the kitchen.

"Katie, you couldn't just wear a dress could you?" Nan asked, pointing at my trousers. She loved me to be myself but apparently this did not expand to my love of trousers.

"Nope it was physically impossible for me too." My grandpa chuckled as Archie started jumping up me for attention.

My Nan was about to reply when there was a knock at the door. "Terry get that, Katie get the pie out of the oven."

We both followed our orders dutifully, my Nan was not someone to be messed with. When I opened the range door, I was hit with the smell of creamy chicken and outwardly groaned at the smell.

I put the pie on the side. "You cooked my favourite."

"Course I did, dear. You're much too thin and need fattening up again." Nan started cutting the pie into fat segments, while keeping an eye on the vegetables.

"Red, there's someone here for you." My grandpa said form behind me.

I turned to see it was Liebgott who I hadn't seen since the day before. He was currently looking me up and down, apparently shocked at my appearance. "Hey, Lieb where you been?" My grandpa returned to his seat at the table while Nan came and stood next to me, flicking me with her towel.

I scowled at her but she just gave me once of her angelic smiles. "Katie, who's this?"

"Nan, this is Joseph Liebgott, he's in Easy with me. Lieb, this is my Nan, Irene and you've met my grandpa Terry."

Lieb held his hand out for my Nan to shake. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"So did you want something or have you just missed me?" I teased. I heard Nan scoff and Grandpa chuckle.

"Bit of both, Duch." He held out a piece of paper for me which I took. "This was at Mrs Smiths for you, she said it came for a runner."

I unfolded the piece of paper and read it quickly, sighing once I'd finished. "Guess who is lucky enough to have to give three lectures tomorrow, attend two and then be on guard duty all night."

Lieb smirked. "If it makes you feel any better, the guys are all going to the pub about nineish if you want to come."

"Course I'll come. When do I ever turn down a drink?"

"Too true." Grandpa muttered from his seat, making Lieb chuckle.

"I'll see you later then. It was nice to meet the two of you." After saying his goodbyes and leaving, all the food was ready.

"Katie, go and get Lieutenant Speirs please." I opened my mouth to just shout him down but Nan cut me off. "And I don't mean shout, I mean go and get him properly." I smiled cheekily at her before heading towards the stairs. I was nervous to see him again, already embarrassed at the thought.

I knocked on his door gently and within seconds the door was opened. I avoided his eyes completely. "Supper's on the table." I told him quickly and turned to leave but was stopped by a hand on my arm.

I looked back into his eyes to see them amused which pissed me off. "Let's not be awkward about early. It was an accident so let's just forget about it."

I nodded. "Fine." I replied curtly.

Throughout dinner I found myself glancing at Speirs, hoping to find him watching me with those heated eyes from earlier but he never was. He was always engaged in polite conversation with my grandparents which pissed me off. I guess I didn't affect him as much as I thought I did.

_October 18__th__, 1942, Aldbourne, England _

I was half way to full blown miserable in Aldbourne, something I never thought I would say. I was exhausted and hardly ever saw the guys or my grandparents due to the sheer amount of work that I had to do. If I wasn't giving lectures, I was in a lecture, if I wasn't stock taking, I was in a training exercise, I if wasn't treating someone's injuries/illness, I was doing PT and if I wasn't doing any of the above, I was on night patrol. What made it worse was that I seemed to be the only one who was this busy, with the rest finding time to go to the pub.

I was currently trudging through a field on a manoeuvres task with Sobel leading which meant we were most defiantly lost and going to be 'killed'. My eyes kept closing of their own accord and I didn't even have friends to keep me company as I was being forced to walk at the back where as Luz, Frank and anyone else worth talking to were at the front or in the other group with Winters in charge.

We were called to a halt by Luz and Frank and we a crouched down. Sobel was looking at the barbed wire fence in front of him like it was some alien object.

"Why is there a fence here? There should be no fence here." He murmured just loud enough for me to hear. He turned to his left and shouted "Tipper!" who was actually just to his right. I had to stifle my giggles as he yanked the map out of Tip's grasp.

He studied it for a few moments before remembering that his troop was out in the open. "Perconte. Luz. Get the men… take cover behind those trees." He ordered, pointing to a cluster of tress that would provide some cover.

"All right, let's go! Move it out fellas." Luz called, guiding us towards the trees.

I sped up to run next to Frank seeing as Sobel was too busy to care where I was. He looked to me and smiled. "Long time no see Duch."

"Tell me about it." I moaned.

"Looks like you need some cheering up." He commented, a twinkle developing in his eyes.

I smirked back at him. "Most definitely." By this point we were behind the trees.

"Perconte?" A voice asked, it was Sisk.

"Yeah?"

"Sobel's lost again isn't he?" Sisk asked, annoyance evident in his voice.

Frank sighed. "Yeah, he's lost."

While Sisk swore under his breathe, Frank looked to me and then Sisk. "Hey, Luz. Luz!" Frank called and Luz joined us quickly. "Can you do Major Horton?"

Luz smirked. "Does a wild bear cap in the woods, son?" He mimicked Major Horton perfectly.

We all snickered at his impression. "Maybe the good major can goose this schmuck; get us moving?" Frank suggested.

I smiled, loving the sound of this plan. Luz started to protest but everyone cheered him on telling him to do it. "Come on Luz!" I pleaded. He looked me in the eyes and smiled at whatever he saw.

"All right but just this once." He agreed. He got some grateful thumps on the helmet. We all crouched down with me in front of Luz. He put his hands on my shoulder for balance as he leaned forward.

He cleared his throat before shouting in a perfect Horton impression "Is there a problem, Captain Sobel?"

"Who said that?! Who broke silence?" Sobel screamed back. We all started chuckling.

There was a few moments of silence before Luz continued. "What is the goddam hold up, Mr Sobel?"

"A fence sir!" He believed us, Tipper probably convinced him. "A… A barbed wire fence, sir!"

"Oh, that dog just ain't gonna hunt!" Luz exclaimed causing me to laugh so loud Frank deemed it necessary to clamp his hand over my mouth. I hadn't had this much fun since the first night we got to Aldbourne. Luz shushed the rest of them men while Frank kept his hand over my mouth. "Now, you cut that fence and get this goddamn platoon on the move!"

Five minutes later we were running double time down a road while Sobel yelled "Hi-yo Silver!" So much for the element of surprise. All of Winters men had relocated themselves because we were so late to both sides of the road to cut of the intersection. We came to a stop and they all stood, their guns pointed at us. To my right was Bill, who I smiled at.

"Hate to break it to you Duch, but if this was combat I would have killed you." He joked, but a serious edge to his voice. He was as mad at Sobel for his idiocy as the platoon he was leading was.

I shook my head. "Bill, you would never kill a girl without attempting to chat her up first." I had heard many stories of Wild Bill and the ladies of Aldbourne.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that an invitation?" he teased my poor choice of words.

I only smiled at him in reply.

_October 20__th__, 1943, Aldbourne, England_

News had travelled fast of Sobel being chewed out by Strayer for cutting the wire fence. News travelled even faster of Winters being lost to Battalion mess. Everyone was fuming and I found myself in a barn sat around a table with Archie on my lap along with Bull, Bill, Lip, Grant , Ranney, Tab, Martin and Harris.

Grant leaned forward in his seat. "So we're going through with this, right?"

"We gotta do something." Ranney replied. "All right. Good. But we all better be clear on the consequences." Lip told them in his soft voice. I flinched slightly at this, the consequences could be dire.

"I don't care about the consequences." Martin muttered.

"Don't be stupid. You could be lined up against a wall and shot." I bit at him, my tone causing Archie to growl.

"Now I'm ready to face that. And every one of us had better be too." Lip finished for me.

"I will not follow that man into combat." Bill stated.

"Me neither." Bull agreed. I understood why they were doing this but I couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

"Katie, you sure on what you're going to do?" Tab asked, his eyes studying my face.

It had been decided not to risk me writing a letter, with me being a 2nd lieutenant there could be bigger consequences for me. What I was going to do however, was talk to Colonel Sink as the men are convinced he likes me and I could possibly get something done. "Of course I'm sure. I'm not going to let that man's stupidity get you all killed."

"All right. Let's do it." They all got pencils and sheets of paper out and began to write.

"I hereby no longer wish to serve as a non-commissioned officer in Easy Company." Bill dictated. Everyone signed their sheets and Lip collected them up.

"All right boys. Good luck."

_October 21__st__, 1943, Aldbourne, England_

I stood outside Sink' office, waiting for him to finish yelling at those who had wrote the letters. He had just transferred Harris out of the regiment and demoted Ranney back down to private. Finally I heard him shout "Now get outta my office and outta my sight. Send Lieutenant Millard in as you leave. Get!"

As they all left, they looked at me with hopeful eyes, hoping I'd be the one to make a difference. I walked into his office and saluted and took the seat he offered.

"Katie, I have been hearing amazing things about you." His eyes sparkled with pride as he told me.

"Thank you, sir."

"So, what can I do for you?" He asked, taking a sip of what looked to be coffee.

"It's about Captain Sobel, sir."

Sink stiffened in his seat. "Is that so?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" I asked hoping to God he would go easy on my. He granted permission and I began the speech I had planned in my head. "Sir, I feel that you need to know that Captain Sobel's leadership skills are lacking. He has shown himself to be a poor decision maker and incompetent in map reading on numerous occasions. Easy is yet to successfully complete a manoeuvres task under his leadership and I can't see this changing anytime soon."

Sink leant propped his arm on the arm of his chair and leant on his hand, his eyes watching me. "Easy Company is the best company, there has to be a reason for that."

"Without a doubt they are the best and they have been trained to the highest of standards but honestly sir, I wouldn't hold Captain Sobel accountable for that." There was a few moments silence. "I'm not saying I won't follow him into combat, I'm saying it would be a waste of the best company to make them follow him into what would be certain death."

Sink sighed. "It must have taken a lot of guts for you to come and say this to me and for that I commend you. But I will say nothing more on the matter. Now get out." His voice was stern and I was out the door before he could say anything more.

I leaned against the door, my eyes shut, breathing deeply. That was the most terrifying thing I had ever done purely because I didn't know what the outcome would be.

"You look live you've just run a marathon." My eyes flew open to see Speirs in front of me watching me like I was some interesting animal. Despite thinking we would be seeing a lot of one another while in Aldbourne, I had seen him less than ever. Our schedules more often than not were conflicting, with me visiting my grandparents during the day while he was out and then vice versa.

I smiled. "Something like that."

He looked at me strangely, as if deciding what to do next. "What are you doing now?"

I shrugged. "I was thinking of going to the stables, everyone else is busy so there's not much for me to do." It was true, all the men had training on fighting positions with Lip, a lecture I had not been quick to volunteer to go to.

"I'm free if you would like some company." He offered.

My heart fluttered at the fact he wanted to spend time with me. "Yeah, some company would be nice."

"The jeeps outside." He jerked his head for me to follow him and we made our way to the jeep.

"Can I drive?" I asked an excited smile on my face.

He walked over and opened the passenger side door, making me think he was allowing me to. "Definitely not." He held the door open for me motioning me inside. I pouted as I climbed in and he shut the door after me. He leaned up against the door and used a finger under my chin to turn my face towards him. His kissable lips were so close and I could smell him; he smelt of gun oil, cigarettes and my grandparent's house; it was an oddly heady concoction. "Don't pout." He ordered before walking round to the driver's side and climbing in.

"Why can't I drive? Is this some sexist shit that women can't drive?"

"Not at all. Your just reckless and I don't trust you to get us there in once piece." He told me, a small smirk on his lips.

I scoffed as we pulled out onto the road. "I am not reckless."

"Really? What were you talking to Sink about?" his voice hinted that he already knew.

"About Sobel." I mumbled.

He looked at me. "Reckless; you could have gotten shot for that." He shook his head turning back to look out on the road.

Speirs got out a packet of Lucky stripes, putting one his mouth and offering me one. "I don't smoke." He went to light the one in his mouth, but the wind was making it impossible. I sighed, leaning over and taking it from his mouth. I put it in my own, grabbing the lighter off him and cupping the cigarette to keep the wind off of it. It lit in no time and I took a small drag to make sure it was, blowing the smoke to the side before handing it him back.

He took it from me, his fingers brushing mine, sending sparkles of electricity down my hand. "Thank you."

I shrugged. I looked ahead in the road and saw a little black ball. I sighed heavily. "Pull over would you?"

He tugged the steering wheel to the side, bringing the jeep to a halt at the side of the road. I climbed out quickly and called Archie over. He came immediately so I picked him up and got back in the car. Archie sat on my lap with his head dangling over the side of the door panting while Speirs was looking at me oddly.

"Does that dog never just stay put?" He asked, starting the jeep up again and pulling out.

I shook my head. "When I lived at home, he was never in the house. He used to walk me to and from school, to work and to the pub."

"Why don't you just leave him to it then?"

"There isn't usually any cars driving about so he doesn't know to stay away from them, I don't want him getting run over. The stables are just on the left here." I pointed to the place I was directing him to.

When we were pulled in, I climbed out, putting Archie on the floor to run about. "So, now that we are here, what are we going to do?" Speirs asked, looking around as if he had never been in an environment like this.

"Well, I'm going to ride a horse, sir. It's up to you if you want to." I looked up at him, hoping he would take my challenge.

He smirked. "I'm up for it. And call me Ron"

"I'm just gonna get the key for the tack room, wait here Ron." I put emphasis on his name, enjoying the spark in his eyes when I said it. I walked towards the small cottage adjacent to the large stables. I knocked on the door and Mr Jones opened the door.

"Katie, I wondered when we would be seeing you." He beamed at me, patting me on the shoulder.

"Hi, Mr Jones. I would have come sooner but I've been so busy."

"Of course you have, being a 2nd Lieutenant and all." I guess word had spread through the town then.

"I was wondering if I could go for a ride today with my erm… friend." I didn't know what to call Ron, friend seemed like the safest option.

He nodded, turning to the key rack. "Here's the tack room key. Can I ask you to take out Moonbeam, he's been faltering going into gallop and could use a firm hand."

"No problem, you know I love a challenge. I'll bring the key back once I'm done." We said our goodbyes and I returned to Ron who was crouched down and petting Archie. He stood when I got closer.

I motioned him to follow as I entered the stables, enjoying the familiar smell of hay and horses. I rubbed the snout of the first horse, a black horse named Jet. The tack room was at the end of the barn so I began walking down, horses throwing their heads over the stable doors after I had walked past. I turned back to see if Ron had followed, which he had but he was dodging the horses heads like they were bombs.

I frowned. "Are you scared of horses?"

"Not scared, weary. There's a difference." He stated.

I laughed "Yeah not much of one." I opened the tack room door to be greeted by the smell of leather. I picked up a saddle that would fit the horse I had chosen for Ron to ride and held it out to him. He took it from me, our hands brushing again. "My grandparents really like you, you know." I told him, feeling like he needed to know for some reason.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Well why wouldn't they." He said arrogantly. I smiled and turned to find the correct bridle. "They ask about you all the time." I made a noise of acknowledgment while I estimated the size of the horses head to a bridle. "They ask if there are any men in your life."

"They must have forgotten that I'm in the army, there are plenty of men in my life." I joked, avoiding the real meaning of their question.

I found the bridle and left the room with Ron following. "You know what they mean." He admonished.

I ignored him and opened the stable door to Blackbird, a beautiful and good natured horse. I walked up to her left and started stroking her neck, talking to her in soothing tones. I looked to the door when Ron was stood with Archie sat next to him. He was staring at me with hard eyes.

"I can't help but think you are avoiding the question. Are there any men?" he asked, his voice stern.

I turned away from him, smirking as I did so. I slid the bridle over Blackbirds head, ensuring the bit was in her mouth before buckling it up. "Well there is Bill and Liebgott and Toye and Luz and Tab." I rattled off their names in hopes of affecting him in some way.

"Katie." The tone of his voice made me turn round and look him in the eye. They were angry and heated. I loved the way my name rolled off his tongue, it sent shivers down my spine. I wasn't used to hearing it anymore, people always called me either by nicknames or by my official title. "Don't play games with me." He demanded, making me want to answer him immediately.

I walked over to take the saddle off of him, lingering when we were stood with only the saddle separating us. "No, there's no men." I told him honestly, sliding the saddle off of him and turning back to the horse.

He watched me finish prepping the horse in silence and when I was done, he stepped out the way so I could return to the tack room. I again handed him the saddle before getting the bridle and walking to Moonbeams stable. When I opened the door he started to kick and neigh.

"Please tell me you're not riding that."

I smirked. "Why, do you want to?" I teased, sensing his unease.

He looked at me like I was insane. "No. Isn't there a calmer horse for you to ride?"

I nodded. I walked over to Moonbeam and started to stroke his neck and changed my tone to a soothing one. "Mr Jones wants me to ride Moonbeam here because he falters when going into gallop and needs a firm hand to bring him out of that habit."

I slowly slipped the bridle over Moonbeams head and with some coaxing, he stayed still and let me buckle it up. "But what if you get hurt?"

It was my turn to look at Ron like he was insane. "I won't." I told him simply, taking the saddle off of him and sliding it onto Moonbeams back.

"You're not invincible." Ron stated, looking a bit annoyed.

I smirked at him. "I am on a horse." A low laugh escaped him at my own arrogance and I couldn't help but smile at him. "Come on, let's go get your noble steed."

I led him back to Blackbird. "All you need to do is hold the reins here and walk." I told him, holding the reins out for him to take. He took them from me and began to walk, with Blackbird dutifully following him. "Just take her outside and I'll be there in a minute."

I returned to Moonbeam, taking his reins and leading him outside, grabbing a helmet as I passed a pile of them. Once outside I found Ron stroking Blackbirds neck. I held the helmet out to him.

"Put this on." I told him.

"You're missing a word on the end of that."

"Oh, sorry. Put this on, now." I joked, making him smirk. "Please." I added.

He took it from me, frowning down at it. "What about you?"

I shook my head. "I have never worn a helmet."

"Why do I have to then?" He continued to frown at me.

"Because you are a newbie and the war effort needs you." I smiled at him, hoping he would just put it on.

He sighed but did. "Only because you said please."

"Right, watch me jump up and then just copy." I stuck my foot in the stirrup, put my hand on the pommel and heaved myself over, feeling at home on top of the horse.

Ron copied me easily and I was impressed. "Ok, just nudge her gently and she should start moving." I clicked my teeth to get Moonbeam moving, if I nudged him he would shoot off. I lead Moonbeam towards the field that already had the gate open, Archie went to follow but I told him to stay and he obeyed.

I turned to make sure Ron was moving and he was but he looked as stiff as a board. I laughed. "Relax we put the kids and the elderly on Blackbird, she is the mildest horse going."

He relaxed a little as we walked in silence in the field, I had stopped so that he was walking beside me and we just looked at the landscape. After a while I got bored of just walking.

"Do you want to speed it up a bit? You know, if you're brave enough." I challenged. He threw me a look that conveyed the message that he was always brave enough. "Right then, kick and click your teeth."

I waited until he was moving quicker before squeezing Moonbeam gently, I quickly caught up to him. After a few minutes I could feel Moonbeam tiring of me constantly reining him in. "I'm gonna let him go, feel free to join if you want to."

I loosened the reins and kicked him, instantly surging forward into a canter. I laughed at the almost instant adrenaline rush. Soon enough I wanted more again, so kicked him onwards again. I had figured the issue with his faltering was that the people riding him were holding the reins too tight so I gave him enough excess. Sure enough he didn't falter as we went into a gallop. I leaned forward in the saddle, holding on as Moonbeam raced forward. There was a hedge not too far in front so I decided just to jump it and then stop. As it came closer, I heard something shouted and soon realised it was Ron calling my name in warning. I ignored him and jumped the hedge easily, clearing it and pulling Moonbeam slowly to a stop. I turned him round a walked back to the hedge. I patted his neck as a well done.

I looked up to see Ron riding at canter speed to get to the hedge, his eyes burning with anger.

"Didn't you hear me calling you!?" he demanded. Even Moonbeam moved at his tone.

"Yeah? And?" my attitude came up as a defence against him.

"What do you think you were doing? What if you fell off at that speed? You're not even wearing a helmet!"

"I wasn't going to fall, I know what I'm doing." I bit back, annoyed at his constant questioning.

"How do you know that? You don't know everything, Katie. You can't predict everything!" I hadn't seen him this angry since Toccoa. "Don't do something that reckless again." He ordered.

His ordering about was making me hot and my decision making fuzzy. I turned Moonbeam away and quickly made him speed up into a gallop again. I made him face the hedge again and sped towards it, clearing it again. I slowed him down and turned back to Ron who looked like he was ready to murder me. "Don't tell me what to do."

His nostrils flared in anger but there was another burning in his eyes, like the one when he saw me in my underwear but more intense. He was about to reply but I started Moonbeam into a trot and made my way back to the farm. By the time he had caught up there was a ready distraction in the form of an excited looking Luz. Luz was the biggest gossip in Easy so the tale of me and Ron going horse riding together was going to be widely known by the end of the night.

"Hey, Luz. You look like a kid on his birthday." I said cheerfully, ignoring Ron coming up behind me and the looks Luz was giving him. I jumped down off Moonbeam, guiding the reins over his head and started leading him towards the stables with Luz and Ron following.

"Sobel's been transferred." Luz spat out, apparently too excited to make a joke.

"You serious?" I spluttered. He nodded and dragged me into a celebratory hug. I found myself laughing with happiness but this was quickly stomped out by Ron's cough to bring my attention to him.

"I best be getting back. Private Luz make sure she gets home." He ordered, handing me Blackbirds reins. His eyes were stoked embers now, obviously trying to control his anger while Luz was present.

"Yes, sir." Luz responded. We both saluted him, me reluctantly so. Once he had returned it, he stomped off. "Well, what's the story there, then?" Luz asked, a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

"None of your business." I replied, giving him a smirk to cover my sadness of Ron and I being yet again not being on speaking terms. It was good while it lasted.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think!**

_May 31__st__, 1944, Upottery, England _

I was in a bad mood. After spending months living in close range of my grandparents but not being be to see them all that often, we had been moved out and I couldn't help but feel that I had wasted time with them, especially because I had avoided going near the house when I knew Speirs was in. It had been a long and tearful goodbye, with promises that we would see each other again.

I climbed out of the truck with Hoob, with someone yelling orders on where to go.

"Holy shit!" Hoob exclaimed looking round and the numerous tents and copious amounts of soldiers. His eyes travelled to three soldiers dressed in German uniforms. One of them spotted him looking and struck up a conversation and not wanting to get lost I stayed with him.

"That's alright, mate. We're just Tommies, not Boche." The soldier had a thick cockney accent and the confused look on Hoob's face made me laugh.

"He said that they're not Germans, they're English soldiers." I translated for him. The soldier looked to me and smiled, obviously not expecting to see a woman.

"All right lovely?" he asked flirtatiously.

Before I could reply, Hoob cut in. "Is this all real?" He looked round in awe again.

The soldier looked back to him. "Yeah, yeah… it's for you lads, so you can get your mince pies on some Jerry clobber. If you know what I mean."

Hoob shook his head. "Not really."

"He means so us lot can get our eyes on the gear we need."

"Hey you got a luger…" he continued but I lost interest and walked off, spotting sight of Liebgott in the crowd and ran to catch up to him, lugging my pack with me.

"Oi, Lieb!" I yelled, catching the attention of quite a few men as I ran through.

He stopped and turned. "Duch what did I say in the truck?" he asked me seriously.

"To keep a low profile while around all these men that don't know me." He gave me a pointed look which I just shrugged at. "Why go through life unnoticed."

Liebgott cracked a tiny grin at my retort. "You know where you're staying then?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm staying at the Ritz, I managed to get a last minute reservation." I told him sarcastically which earned me a nudge from his shoulder. "I had the option of being in with the officers or the medics. I chose the officers cause then at least Buck's there."

We had all bonded quickly with our new 2nd lieutenant. He was easy going and funny and not shy at all when it came to gambling making him an instant hit with the rest of the men. He didn't have a single issue with me being a woman so of course I liked him.

"Speak of the devil." Liebgott nodded towards the road where Buck was pulling up in a jeep with Winters. If there faces were anything to go by, Buck was being told off for something. He quickly joined us, easily carrying his pack with him.

"What's that about, Buck?" I motioned towards Winters.

"He doesn't like me gambling with the men, thinks it would be detrimental if I won." He was looking at me with his shocking blue eyes and I couldn't help but smile.

"Winters is a good man. Shame he's so damn straight laced." Liebgott griped.

"Have you found our tent yet, Duchess?" Buck asked.

"Nope, I haven't really been looking but all these tents look the fucking same anyway."

Buck slung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in, ruffling my hair. "Come on let's go find it then."

Liebgott slapped me on the arse, something that was quickly becoming a habit at his. I slapped his wrist in reprimand. "I'm going this way so I'll see you later." He started off in the opposite direction to us before I could say goodbye.

I was tugged along by Buck, chatting about his gambling. "Why don't you gamble?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "I'm too damn unlucky, I only play poker."

"We'll have to set up a game sometime then." He pulled me around, so that we stood in the entrance of our tent. "Home, sweet home." He announced.

I walked over to the closest bunk and lay down on my side. "It's gonna be damn cold in here." I grumbled.

The bunked dipped and I felt an arm wrap around my waist. "Don't worry, I'll keep you warm." Buck cooed, making me giggle.

"You know usually I would make you move but I might take you up on that offer." I joked.

Buck laughed. "Wait till the boys here that I got to cuddle their precious Duchess." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Lieutenant Compton." A stern voice came from the entrance and I sat up, immediately recognising it to belong to Speirs. By the fire in his eyes he had seen us cuddling. It would be a lie to say we hadn't spoken since October because we had but it was the most mundane conversations exchanged only to keep my grandparents happy without any eye contact made before one of us sped out of the room.

Buck sat up next to me, a cheeky smile on his face. "Yes, Lieutenant Speirs?"

Speirs glared at Buck like he was trying to kill him with his mind. "Lieutenant Meehan wants us to see him in his tent."

Buck nodded and stood. "Best not keep him waiting." He strode to the door, smiling cheerfully. "See you later, Duch." He called as he left. Speirs stayed in the doorway, diverting his attention to me. Not being able to handle the tension, I made to leave as well but he caught my wrist before I could.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

I raised an eyebrow at his rudeness and sudden close proximity. "And you care why exactly, sir?"

"Because I don't want you wondering around a bunch of soldiers who are not used to you." his eyes were glowing again, the heat from that time in my bedroom returning.

"I was going to find Liebgott to get a haircut. Thought it would be a good way to maybe blend in if I had short hair" I told him, hoping in one way that my answer would cut this conversation short but I also didn't want to leave. I was planning on getting it cut really short, like a pixie cut.

His eyes scanned my face and hair before returning to my eyes. "It would be a good way to piss me off." He stated, admitting he liked the way I looked.

I laughed a humourless laugh. "And what gave you the impression I cared what pissed you off." I wrenched free from his hold and stalked off, hoping to find the men quickly. I didn't mean to react the way I did with him but his arrogance and demanding personality riled me in more ways than one.

I finally came across them to find all my best friends were in the same tent; Bill, Toye, Liebgott, Tab, Luz, Malarkey, Muck and Shifty. "It sucks that you're a lieutenant really." Tab complained from his bunk when I walked in.

"Yeah, we never see you cause your too busy and you don't get to share a tent with us." Malarkey added.

"Tell me about it." I moaned. I turned and sat next to Liebgott who was lying on his bunk. "Lieb?" I drawled.

"I have a feeling your about to ask me for a favour." He slung his arm over his eyes as if to try and block me out.

I smacked him on the thigh. "I just want you to cut my hair." I clarified. "I want it really short so I won't be recognised as a girl so much."

Liebgott came out of his hiding place, with his eyebrows raised. "No way in hell am I cutting your hair that short." There were noises of agreement from all the men that they didn't want me to cut my hair.

"What is everyone's issue with my hair?" I asked the room but got no response. "Fine, will you cut it to my shoulder's at least?" I asked, giving him my puppy dog eyes.

"That I can do." He got me to sit at the end of his bunk and got a pair of scissors from his pack.

"Hey, Duch." Bill called teasingly.

"What?" I asked, not turning my head because Liebgott had started cutting.

"Did you hear about Frank and that girl from Aldbourne." I shook my head which lead him into a story about Frank sleeping with this girl, only to wake up to find her planning their wedding. I was laughing so hard, Liebgott tugged on a lock of hair in admonishment and told me to keep still.

"So, any of you lot meet up with some of the local gals. I've heard about Bill so we really can call him Gonorrhoea for sure now." I joked making everyone laugh. People started firing stories of one another and the escapades in Aldbourne, which had me crying with laughter.

Buck stepped into the tent about fifteen minutes later. "Hello everybody." He greeted, smiling widely. "Anyone care to explain why Speirs hates me already?"

I stiffened at the use of his name. "What makes you think he hates you?" Toye asked from his bed.

Buck shrugged. "I don't know, probably the glares he's been throwing me since he came into the officer's tent earlier."

"I'm sure there's a logical reason why." Shifty said, always the voice of reason.

"Well what were you doing when he walked in?" Muck asked, trying to investigate.

Buck looked to me smirking and I attempted to shake my head to stop him from talking. "Me and Duchess were having a cuddle."

Everyone burst out laughing while Buck smirked. "See that's why he hates you." Bill informed him, his explanation confusing me.

"Yeah, everyone knows he's got a claim on the Duchess." Luz expanded.

"What the fuck are you on about!?" I exclaimed. They all looked at me and chuckled.

"Speirs has a claim on you, everyone with eyes can see it." Tab explained, smirking at the look on my face. Liebgott had stopped messing with my hair so I guessed he was done so stood up.

"What?" I asked again, feeling myself go red. "This isn't the Middle Ages, he doesn't have a 'claim' on me!"

"He glares at any guy who comes near you, which is quite a feat considering you're the only girl in an entire battalion." Luz told me.

Malarkey walked up to stand next to Buck, tapping him on the shoulder. "And get this, he actually smiles when she talks to him." Buck actually looked surprised at this.

"We don't even talk!"

"Doesn't matter, the claim has been made." Bill told me wisely.

I was about to make a retort when a little runner appeared in the doorway. "Lieutenant Millard?"

I swear the picked the smallest guys to be runners, as if that was all they could do in the war effort. "Yeah?"

He looked scared of me, making all the guys chuckle. "There has been a small accident and you're needed at the scene, ma'am."

"Fine, lead the way." I thanked Liebgott for cutting my hair and then followed the runner out. I hadn't thought anyone knew about what was going on with Speirs and I, I guess I was very wrong.

_June 4__th__, 1944, Upottery, England_

"Three-day supply of K-rations, chocolate bars, candy, powdered coffee, sugar, matches, compass, bayonet, trenching tool, ammunition, gas mask, musette bad with ammo, my webbing, my 45, canteen, two cartons of smokes, Hawkins mine, two grenades, smoke grenade, Gammon grenade, TNT, this bullshit and a pair of nasty skivvies." Toye was rattling off almost all the things he had to carry in an angry tone. I was sat next to his kit, not having anything better to do then watch him pack. I didn't have all the excess like the rest of the men did, only having a medic's bag stuffed full, a few extra supplies and my chutes.

"What's your point?" Frank asked from next to us, sounding a little annoyed at Toy's complaining.

"God! This stuff weighs as much as I do. I still got my chute, my reserve chute, my Mae West and my M-1." Toye looked at all his luggage and then looked to me shaking his head. "It's so heavy."

"Where are you keeping your brass knuckles?" I asked, pretending to look around his gear for them.

"I could use some brass knuckles." He replied, squinting at me through the sun.

I smirked. "I best go find you some then." I told him, standing and walking away.

"You serious?!" he yelled hopefully after me.

I turned so that I was walking backwards and looking at him. "Of course not dumbass. What you gonna do, punch the krauts to death?"

I turned back around and carried on walking passing Tab opening a parcel containing a luger and Martin talking to Lip about a letter. Since getting to Upottery there had been lots to do, as always; refresher lectures, stock taking, distribution of supplies etc. There had been plenty of time to spend with the guys though and I spent more time in their tent then my own. The most important lecture was of course the one explaining the plan for D-Day and now it was just a waiting game until it was that day.

After walking for a while and checking on the medics to make sure they had all their equipment, I found Luz, Malarkey and Bill. Bill was sat eating ice cream so I made a bee-line for him.

"Hey, you know sharing is caring right?" I told him eyeing up his bowl of ice-cream.

He scooped up a spoonful and held it out to me, which I ate gratefully. "Only cause it's you, Duch." I smiled at him while Malarkey was looking at his new leg bag.

"Why are they springing these things on us now?" He complained, throwing the bag on the floor.

"For you inconvenience." I muttered, making Bill chuckle slightly as he held up another spoonful of ice-cream for me.

"It's just an extra 80 pounds strapped to your leg." Luz held up a square toggle. "Does anybody have any idea how this things works?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I answered him, sticking my finger in the ice-cream.

"How, how could you possibly know?" Malarkey asked as if in shock.

I scoffed. "Cause some of us actually listen in lectures." I stood up and walked over to Luz, taking the toggle from him and I started to attach it where it was meant to go. Vest came charging over, looking very self-important as usual and handed Bill a piece of paper.

"Colonel Sink." He stated before handing one to Luz with the same comment.

"Soldiers of the regiment: tonight is the night…" Luz started in a Sink impersonation that made me smile but then his voice returned to normal as he continued. "… of nights. Today as you read this, you are en route to the great adventure for which you have trained for over two years."

I could feel Luz's mood sag as he tensed with nerves. I had finished attaching the toggle so pulled him in for comforting hug that he quickly returned.

"So that's why they gave us ice-cream." Bill said grumpily, looking at the ice-cream like it had committed an offence against him.

_3 Hours Later_

"Easy Company! Listen Up!" Lieutenant Meehan was stood on jeep, looking down at all the greased up faces of his men, including me. "Channel coast is socked in with rain and fog! No jump tonight! The invasion has been postponed! We're on a 24 hour stand down!"

All the men groaned, a 24 hour stand down meant 24 hours of worrying about what was to come.

"He says it's been postponed like some fucking tea party." Liebgott grumbled next to me.

Luz turned to me, a sad look on his grease covered face. "I'm all greased up with nowhere to go." He said sadly and I couldn't help but smile at him.

I flung my arms over Liebgott and Luz's shoulder. "Come on, they are playing a movie in a tent and all the seats will be gone if we don't hurry."

In the tent there was a haze of smoke from people chain smoking to calm their nerves. I focused on the film to block out the deafening silence. Luz, who was sat next to me, was bouncing his leg nervously. I placed my hand on his knee to settle him but he grasped my hand in his immediately, clutching it like a lifeline. We sat there for a while in silence as I rubbed his knuckles with my thumb.

Bill suddenly came barging past us looking angry and upset. I leaned into Luz. "I'm gonna check on Bill, will you be ok?" I whispered. He nodded his head, giving me a soft smile before letting go of my hand.

I scurried out the tent as quick as possible, twisting all ways to try and make out his silhouette. There wasn't many people about, everyone either watching a film or in the tent so I caught sight of him and rushed after him. His face was stony in a way I'd never seen and there was a sheen of tears in his eyes.

"Bill, what wrong?" I asked worriedly. He didn't say anything, didn't even acknowledge I was there. I grabbed his arm to try and stop him but he shook me off and carried on walking. "Bill, please!" I begged. I stepped in front of him, making him come to a stop. I cupped his face with my hands, not knowing what else to do. "Bill." I whispered.

"My brother's dead, got hit in Monte Cassino." His voice shook as he told me, his eyes avoided mine as a single tear slipped out.

I looked round to see where we were, noticing we weren't far from my tent, I took his hand and pulled him to follow me, luckily the tent was empty. I pulled him to my bed and sat him down, sitting next to him and dragging him in for a tight hug. My arms were around his neck and his grasped at my waist as he shook with his sobs. I didn't know what else to do but hold him, I couldn't think of any words to comfort him.

"My ma, she's gonna be… I'm not even there to…" he tried to get out a full sentence but couldn't, his grief interrupting each attempt. I shushed him soothingly, not being able to bear the sound of his voice so vulnerable. It hurt me to see him like this and I could feel tears of my own welling up. I lay us down on the bed with his head on my chest as he began to slow his sobs and regain his grip on life. I ran my fingers through his hair with the other arm wrapped around his back as he held onto me I could feel his breathing level out and looked down to find that he had fallen asleep.

This was my first encounter of death in the war. I mean at the hospital back in London people had died but I never had to see the grief that it caused. I would just move onto the next patient without a second thought. But seeing Bill like this, I thought about all those parents who had lost their child, men and women who had lost a sibling. Tears slipped out of my eyes.

Winters and Nix walked into the tent together and looked to at me and Bill. Nix just smirked, taking the situation the wrong way and Winters gave me a disapproving look. I shook my head to dismiss the thoughts they were having and decided just to tell them the truth.

"His brother died, he just found out." I whispered to them and sympathy came into their eyes. I shook my head again. "He won't want our sympathy, just don't mention it." I told them, knowing what my friend would want most. Bill wriggled his sleep bringing himself even closer. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep as well. I was going to need it; tomorrow was D-Day.

_D-Day__, 1944, Upottery Airfield_

I woke up due the sudden loss of weight and heat from my chest. I opened my eyes to find Bill sat on my cot with his back to me. The tent was empty apart from the two of us. He must have sensed I was awake because he started to talk.

"I'm sorry for losing it like that." He muttered, his tone angry. I guess he had got over the shock and was now angry about his loss.

I sat up. "There's nothing to be sorry for." I went to rub his back but he moved before I could.

He started towards the door making some excuse for why he had to leave. I got why he was acting this way. Bill prided himself on being tough, being a man and showing his vulnerability freaked him out.

I spent the rest of the day double and triple checking all the medics had the correct equipment, re-counting to stock to leave behind correct reports for whoever was here next and made sure I had fit as many supplies into my own pack as humanly possible.

I was walking around Easy Company, looking for Roe and Spina to give them the airsickness pills that they had to hand out when I was approached by Toye, who didn't look happy.

"What's eating your arse?" I asked him, commenting on the stormy look on his face. "This isn't about the damn weight of you kit is it cause you know you don't really need the coffee and the…"

"This isn't about my kit." He cut me off sharply, making me jolt slightly. He caught me by the upper arm and marched me till we were away from any prying ears.

"What is with you?" I demanded, shocked at how he was acting.

He swung me round so I was facing him. "Where were you last night?"

"In my tent." I answered immediately. "Why?" I had a feeling I knew where this conversation was heading but I couldn't understand why he was angry.

"Luz said you left the movie to go after Bill and then Bill didn't come back all night." His low and husky voice would have been intimidating to most but my attitude seemed to make me unable to care. He waited to see if I would give him anything without a prompt but I just stared back at him. "What the fuck is that about?"

I didn't think it was my place to tell Toye about Bill's brother. When I told Winters and Nix I knew it would stay between the two of them but with Toye it would spread quickly without him even meaning it to. I shrugged my shoulders. "Ask Bill."

"Just tell me." he bit out.

"It's not my place to say anything."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you two fucking?"

"What are you bickering about?" A deep Philly accent asked. I turned to see Bill stood behind me, his expression as stony as the morning.

I looked pointedly at Toye. "Are you going to ask him or am I going to have to tell him?" Toye avoided my eyes so I took that as my cue. "Toye thinks we are fucking because I left to find you last night and you didn't go back to the tent. I told him to ask you what happened."

Bill's eyes flicked from me to Toye. He didn't hesitate to tell his best friend what had really happened. "I picked up the wrong coat and there was a letter inside it from Martin's wife. Turns out my brother was killed and I had a meltdown. Duch was there for me."

Toye's eyes flicked back to me with a guilty look in them. "Sorry, I don't know why…" he started but I cut him off.

"Yeah, apology excepted." I smiled at him to make sure he knew I meant it.

Toye looked back to Bill. "You ok?"

Bill shrugged. Toye did the unexpected and grabbed Bill, giving him a manly hug which mainly consisted of him thumping on his back, it was still sweet though. Once they had parted, Bill' eyes were on me. "Give the Duchess and me a sec, will ya?"

Toye nodded and went to leave but I called him back, holding out the box of airsickness pills I had been holding the whole time. "Give these to Doc Roe and Spina will you, to show that you are sorry." I gave him a small smirk he took the box and walked off.

I turned back to Bill. I didn't know what to say to start the conversation so I just looked at him, waiting for him to speak. "I need to say something to you, and you can't interrupt with that smart mouth of yours." He told me.

I raised my eyebrows. "Ok then."

He gave me a hard look that was shadowed with fear. "You can't die, you can't. You need to stay safe and out of the fray." There was a few moments silence as I attempted to keep my 'smart mouth' shut. "I can't take losing you, I don't know what I'd do." His voice sounded so fragile, I couldn't help but pull him in for a hug.

"Trust me, I'm not going anywhere." I let him go and smiled at him. "You can't die either, or I swear to God I will kill you!"

He huffed a laugh. "I best go get suited up." He walked off, back to normal Bill, or as normal as he could be right now. I guess that was what had been bothering him, the thought of losing someone else he cared for.

I sat with Grant, Christenson and Luz while they got suited up, greasing their faces as they sat, weighed down with their packs. I had been given orders to get ready as late as possible so that if there were any last minute medical problems, I could sort them easily. And of course there was a last minute problem.

Harry waked past and patted me on the shoulder while Luz was greasing my face. "You're needed over at Dog Company. Something about a medic dropping his bandages in mud" he told me.

I sighed heavily. "Seriously, I told all the medics, keep the bandages clean. What a fucking idiot." I complained.

Harry laughed "Don't be too hard on the boy, he's already had Speirs come down heavy on his ass."

I shook my head. "I'll take some over to him now." I looked to Luz. "Am I greased sufficiently, oh master face painter?"

He smiled at me before rubbing is index finger down my nose. "Done, you're so well camouflaged I can't even see you." I chuckled at his lame joke.

"In case I don't see you before the jump, I'll see you over there. Be safe." I gave all three of them a hug with the one from Luz being tighter and longer. I'd made my rounds to most of the men, promising to see them on the other side and giving hugs. I had come to care about the men so much that I didn't know how I would react if one of them got hit.

I walked to the supplies tent, getting out a pile of bandages in a range of sizes and stuffing them into an abandoned satchel. I changed the stock notes to show that the tent was now a little lighter on bandages before walking towards Dog Company.

I looked around till I found a guy with a medic band around his arm. His eyes were red rimmed and he was sniffling, indicating that he had been crying. I told him to be careful in the kindest voice I could manage before starting back towards Easy. I was walking in amongst the tents when someone grabbed my arm and dragged me into one of them.

"Hey, arsehole. Get off me." I struggled against the persons grip.

"You know, you really need to work on how you speak to your superiors." I stilled at the voice, recognising it as Speirs.

I sighed. "And you really need to work on how you get people's attention. There are more ways than just grabbing you know." He didn't reply to me, instead we stared at each other, his deep chocolate eyes holding mine. "Well, what is so important you have to manhandle me?" To be honest, I was glad he had dragged me into the tent. I needed to say the same thing to his as I had to all the other men. As much as he pissed me off, I knew him enough to care about him.

He took a deep breath and his voice came out stern and hard. "Do not be reckless while we are over there. Do not go on suicide missions that will only get you injured or killed." He cupped the side of my neck with one of his hands, running his thumb across my pulse point. The skin he touched instantly became warm and covered with goose bumps. "And I'm only saying this because I know you put everyone else before yourself; think about how much it would hurt those around you if you did get hurt. You've made everyone care about you and you can't take that away from them now." His voice was low and severe and oh so alluring.

I leaned into him without even thinking about it, fisting my hands in his jacket. "You can't die either." I told him in a voice that was meant to be stern but instead came out breathy. He raised an eyebrow like he was surprised. "What, you think I didn't care?"

He was so close, I'd only have to lean in a bit to finally kiss those lips that have been taunting me since I met him. I licked my own lips which had suddenly gone dry and his eyes dropped to them, following the pattern of my tongue. His eyes darkened.

"I swear if I find out you do anything stupid or reckless, you're going to regret it." he ground out.

I smirked. "Yes, sir." I murmured to him. I was about to lean in further when I heard someone calling my name which jerked him out of the bubble we were in. He switched back to Lieutenant Speirs, hard and uncaring, dropping his hands from me.

"You best get back to Easy." He left the tent abruptly, leaving me frustrated. I didn't understand his problem, he would be as sweet as he could possibly be, acting like he cared for me and then leave me high and dry.

I left the tent, following the sound of the voice to find Lip searching for me. "Come on, Lieutenant, we need to get you in your chute." For some reason Lip stayed oddly formal when it came to how he addressed me, he was the only one other than those in other companies.

An hour and a lot of prodding and pulling later, I was handing out airsickness pill to those in the plane with me. I was with Winters, Muck, Toye, Grant and Malarkey and of course others but these were who stuck in my mind.

People started boarding the plane with Winters hoisting them up from their seats on the ground. They were helping one another get into the plane, the sheer amount of weight making them clumsy and hard to move. I was last to get on before Winters who pushed me in when I faltered on the steps. Once inside I looked at the faces of the men I would be jumping with. They were pale and it worried me, I hoped their nerves wouldn't interfere with their training.

Grant was sat next to me and he grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze with a reassuring smile. "Everyone will be fine." He told me, knowing this is what I'd be most worried about. The plane started, the engines making an unholy racket. As we started to move, soldiers clutched to their seats and breathed deeply. This was it, our war had officially started.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**The build up to Speirs and the OC is going to be a bit of a slow burner because I want to put equal emphasis on the relationship between the OC and the men of Easy Company to that of her and Speirs.**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! **

**Just as a warning, this is a long chapter. I decided to get the episode 'Day of Days' done all in one go.**

I attempted to sleep most of the plane journey with my head on Grant's shoulder. The noise kept me awake but I didn't open my eyes, not wanting to see the fear on the men's faces. There mumblings of prayers, people asking for lights for their Lucky Stripes, nervous tapping's and people playing with their clackers. I was jolted from my fake sleep by the noise of artillery fire in the distance. That was the problem of being by the front, you could see what we were flying into.

The tension picked up at the new noise and the plane started to rock. As we got closer the pilot flipped on the red light, prompting Winters to stand.

"Stand up! Hook up!" We all stood and clipped onto the wire above us. I tried to focus solely on getting out of the plane while fear flooded me. "Equipment check!" Grant started tugging on my equipment to make sure it was all good. "Sound off for equipment check!"

Shouts came down the line, strong and confident, the adrenaline must have kicked in, until it got to me and Grant thumped me on the shoulder and I shouted "Two okay!"

The plane jolted to the side, sending all us with it. The rest of the men caught themselves on the benches but I was too far forward but luckily Winters grabbed me by the arm. We righted ourselves as best we could. There was a clatter further back in the line and I caught the end of a cry of pain. I wanted to go back and help but it was impossible with everyone ready to jump. I looked to the door and could make out pieces of the ground, indicating we were fairly low. Shards of light flew everywhere, aiming at the aircrafts and those who had made it successfully out of their own planes.

The green light came on and Winters jumped. I surged forward and followed him quickly. I had no fears about the jump itself, it was about what I would find when I made it to the ground. Falling to the ground with artillery shells flying past me was terrifying and distracting. I was too busy looking at what was going on around me and worrying about the guys that I didn't notice I was heading for a tree.

As I fell into it, I felt scratches across my face and a particularly deep one on my neck which had blood trickling out of it, warming my skin and soaking into my jacket. I hit the release button on my parachute and feel ungracefully to the ground, landing on my side with such force that I bruised my ribs. I didn't have any time to dwell on the pain, immediately looking round my surroundings. There were no land marks to help guide my way but with the planes still flying overhead, so I began to walk in the direction they were flying, my logic being they were flying towards the DZ that I had quite obviously missed.

I got my knife out from my bag, my only protection if I came across the enemy. I stayed low, treading carefully with my ribs protesting at every step.

I walked for about ten minutes without any issue. That was until a kraut managed to sneak up behind me. He had been so quiet, I didn't notice him until his arm was around my neck.

He smelt dank and dirty, he must have been in the woods for a long time now. He bought his mouth to my ear, his breath puffing across it. "_Krieg ist kein platz für eine frau_. (War is no place for a woman.)" He muttered in my ear. Him knowing I was a woman made me, if possible even more alert.

I grabbed hold of the arm that was covering my neck and used his weight to throw him over my shoulder. I went to cut his throat but he grabbed onto my wrist painfully and attempted to make me drop it. He tugged on my wrist harshly while bucking his body which made me fall to the side dropping my knife as I went and he was instantly on top of me.

I was beginning to panic as his hands closed around my throat. The lack of oxygen was making my brain fuzzy but as I kicked my legs in struggle, I realised he hadn't secured them well enough. I hook a leg around his waist and used the last reserve of my energy to roll his weight off of me, scooping my knife up as I did so and bringing it down across his throat before he had a chance to react. His warm blood spilled over my hands as he released my throat. His eyes were filled with fear and I had to look away. He gargled random words in German that I couldn't translate in his last seconds before he stopped moving all together.

I got off of him, unhooking his gun from his shoulder and his ammo from his waist before I carried on moving. I wiped my hands as best I could on my jackets that was already covered in a mixture of my own and the soldier's blood. For five minutes I thought of nothing but the fear in his eyes as I took his life, feeling guilty. He was so young yet his life was over.

I hear a twig snap to the right of me. "Flash." I muttered, holding the kraut weapon in the direction of the noise. I wasn't going to be caught out again.

"Thunder." Came back as a whispered reply before Winters and another soldier popped out from behind a tree. Relief flooded my senses.

"Sir, you have no idea how glad I am to see you." I told him honestly.

Winters smiled softly. "And me, you."

"Are you ok, Lieutenant?" the nameless soldier asked, looking over my blood stained uniform and cut up face.

I nodded. "It's not all my blood. I fell into a tree and then got into a fight with a kraut, you know just every day invasion shit."

The soldier looked impressed while Winters chuckled. "You haven't been in Normandy an hour and you've already got yourself into trouble." He looked to the soldier briefly. "This is Hall, Hall this is Lieutenant Millard. Come on we need to keep moving"

We started walking, keeping low and scoping our surroundings. I offered my kraut weapon to Winters but he refused. The walk was uneventful until we got closer to the machine gun. The gun was pointing at the sky but we moved slowly to make sure we didn't become its new targets. Even in the darkness I could clearly make out the forms on the soldiers.

We were a bit close for comfort. "Wait until they reload." Winters ordered.

I could make out the figures, I could shoot them and save the planes being shot at any longer. I raised my gun and took aim. There were four of them, I would have to re-aim fast if I didn't want them to target us. I took a deep breath and on the release, I shot and re-aimed four times, them all falling milliseconds after I pulled the trigger.

I put down my gun and guilt swamped me again.

"How did you do that?" I turned and looked to Winters who was to the left of me.

I shrugged. "I used to hunt back in England."

Hall was watching me impressed again. "I'm going to suggest that you are rifle trained when we get back to England. If it was up to me you would be Easy's new sniper." Winters told me. He took off beginning to walk on again. I smiled widely and followed.

Hall and Winters chatted as we walked, talking about Hall being a radioman. I was too trapped in my own thoughts to join in. I was thinking of all my friends and where they were. If they had landed safely, if they had met up with someone, if they had had any run-ins with any Germans. I also was thinking about the fact I had killed five people in under an hour. Five families that were now one member less.

We made it onto a river bank when we heard twigs snapping across it. The three of us crouched down and watched to see if we could decipher whether they were friend or foe. Winters got out his clacker and clicked it three times. There was a splash of water and Lipton came into view along with two new faces.

"Who's that?" Winters asked, squinting in the darkness.

"Lieutenant Winters? Lieutenant Millard. Is that you?" Lip sounded happy to have met up with someone from Easy.

We ran down the river bank to flat land and the other three joined us, we all crouched down.

"Any weapon?" Winters asked.

Lip shook his head. "No, sir. I got hit by the prop blast, so long leg bag. All I've got is this knife and some TNT." He pointed to the new faces. "These 82nd guys have got their M-1's though." It now made sense why they were looking at me so oddly, the 82nd had never met me.

"Man 82nd! Where the hell are we?!" Hall exclaimed.

"You're in Normandy." I told him in a teasing tone. He rolled his eyes at me which made me smile.

"Sir, I saw a sign back thataways. It said Sainte-Mère-Église." Lip told Winters.

Winters looked around before stabbing his knife into the ground and he began to mess with his fly. "Whoa there sir, if you need to relieve yourself there is no need to do it in front of us." I told him earning myself a wry smile from him as he held up a tiny compass. "You couldn't just put it in your pocket could you?"

"Flashlight?" He asked Lip who held out one for him. "Raincoat?"

"Either of you got a raincoat?" Lip asked the 82nd guys. The one on the right opened the one on the left's bag and held out the raincoat to Lip.

Winters took the rain coat and made a shelter to shield the light before going under it. "Millard get under here, you probably know these maps better than me." I put my head under the raincoat and immediately pointed where we were on the map. I had got a bit obsessive when the order was given to study the maps.

Winters studied the maps for a few moments longer before taking the raincoat off our heads and handed back to the 82nd soldiers. "We're about seven kilometres from our objective and only four hours away from when we need to have it secured. We've got a lot of walking ahead of us. You men will stick with us until we find your unit."

We started walking again, Hall and I taking point. I talked in whispers to Hall about his home life and why he joined up just to distract myself from my thought of my friends. We found the railroads that would lead us most of the way to the meet point but heard voices as we approached them. I listened hard to decipher whether they were American or German.

"Because I studied the sand tables, all right?" a harsh voice whispered. A smiled, knowing that voice anywhere. I turned to Winters who was crouched behind me.

"That's Joe Toye, sir." I told him not even attempting to hold back my smile. One of my friends was safe and a couple of metres in front of me, I was so glad.

There was silence form the tracks and then I heard another voice I knew well. "Probably a friggin train or a…"

Winters cut Malarkey off but calling "Flash."

I heard the rattle of their guns as they swung round and called "Thunder" back. Winters stepped forward out of our covering of trees and I didn't hesitate to run forward, throwing myself at the form that I identified as Toye. He immediately wrapped his arms round my waist and squeezed me tight.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you we were glad to see me Duch." He muttered to me.

I released my hold on him. "Whatever gave you that idea?" I smirked.

I was enveloped in another hug that I returned quickly. The height of the man and the way he held me told me it was Bill which caused me to feel another wave of relief and happiness. "You have no idea how worried I was about you." He whispered to me, quiet enough so only I could hear.

"Considering I have thinking nonstop about all of you, I think I do."

We let go of one another and I gave a hug to Malarkey and Popeye too, pleased to see them alive and well. Everyone was greeting one another and checking they were ok.

Popeye caught sight of the bandage on my neck and nodded towards it and the blood on my uniform. "What happened to you?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Got into a fight with a tree and lost."

Hall walked past. "Not to mention a fight with a Kraut." He added. I shot him a glare when Toye and Bill turned their attention, obviously having heard what he said.

"Katie, what the fuck?" Bill demanded, stepping forward and surveying me for injuries. The use of my first name meant he was on edge, he never used it.

"Look, I'm obviously fine, it's his blood not mine." I assured him. Winters was watching the interaction with interest.

Toye stepped next to Bill. "You killed him?" I nodded, averting my eyes from theirs because of the guilt.

"Him and four machine gun operators." Hall chipped in again obviously not getting the glare from earlier.

Malarkey and Popeye were looking at me impressed. "Aren't you full of surprises?" Malarkey muttered.

Bill and Toye were eyeing me strangely. "Guarnere."

Bill looked at Winters. "Sir?"

"You and Hall up front." Winters ordered and Hall started forward.

"Who the hell is Hall?" Bill asked confused, making me smile.

We all started walking again, keeping quiet as to not draw attention to ourselves. I felt more relaxed than before, knowing two of my best friends were safe. Toye continued to throw me weird looks as he was standing next to me and I frowned each time, not knowing why he was doing it.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" I whispered after the tenth time.

"I'm making sure you're ok."

My eyebrows drew together. "I told you I'm fine, the cut is fine." I reassured.

He shook his head. "You killed five people, Duch. You weren't trained to kill, you were trained to save and now you feel guilty even though there's no need to." He knew me too well, he knew it had bothered me more then I cared to let on.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Of course I feel guilty, I saw how Bill reacted when he found out his brother was dead. I've just caused people to feel like that."

"Don't think about it, it's a necessary part of war."

I didn't have chance to reply as Hall stopped us and we all crouched, guns at the ready. When I listened hard I could hear horses and German voices. Winters ran forward, making no noise and he looked over the left of the bridge. He ran to the right where it was open and I could see a little hill that would let us get to the bottom.

"Lipton! Go!" He instructed Lip to the left of the bridge and then called Bill to the right. I followed Bill down the right of the hill and positioned myself behind him and then Popeye behind me.

"Wait for my command." Winters whispered from the left. I held my gun firm as the voices got closer. Bill's shoulders were set, ready for a fight.

The Germans came under the bridge and I could now see them. There was about twenty on a cart with two horses pulling. My heart dropped when I realised the horses would be caught in the fire but I didn't have time to dwell on this. Bill stepped out and started firing rapidly before Winters ordered us too. Not wanting him to be stood out there, a perfect target, I stepped out too, pulling on the trigger gently until it fired and repeated the action. The others followed our lead and started to fire. My ears were swamped with gun fire and the whine of the horses. The soldiers dropped either dead or injured, none of them even managing to fire their weapon in retaliation. Lip shouted grenade followed by a loud bang and a scattering of debris. I didn't stop firing until all the soldiers stopped moving. I was surprised I hadn't run out of ammo. Everyone else ceased fire but Bill continued. I was about to stop him when Winters charged over, grabbing him on the arm and swinging him around so that he stopped firing.

"That's enough Guarnere!" Winters shouted his order, obviously annoyed that Bill had disobeyed him. They glared at one another and I found it really awkward. Winters was in the right but I sensed Bill's behaviour was about his brother.

They continued to glare at one another. "Everyone ok?" Winters asked, and everyone gave positive replies. I walked off, not being able to watch them any longer. Toye was at my side and we walked to the carnage we had just caused.

One of the horses was dead while the other continued to whine in pain. I looked at it, sadness swelling within me at its state. "Toye?" I asked. He looked away from the horse to me. "Kill it please. I can't."

Joe nodded, pulling out his handgun and shooting it in the head swiftly. He looked back at me, bringing his hand up and wiping the tear from my cheek I hadn't realised had escaped. I wiped my cheek hastily and turned away. "I'm fine, I'm just tired." I told him before he had a chance to ask.

I heard Bill mutter "Fine Quaker" as he walked past me, referring to Winters.

"What's that guy's problem?" I heard Hall ask.

"Gonorrhoea." Malarkey answered, getting up from the body he had just been searching.

Hall's eyes bulged. "Really?"

I sighed. "His name, Guarnere, Gonorrhoea. You get it Hall?" my tone came out sharper than I expected because I didn't like someone who didn't even know Bill question him.

"So besides having a shitty name, what's his problem?" Hall continued. This guy did not know when to stop talking.

"None of your fucking business, cowboy!" Bill barked at him, his stance aggressive. Hall looked scared of him and I couldn't blame him for it.

"All right, let's move out. Quietly." Lip ordered, obviously referring to Bill's loud tone.

I wanted nothing more than to go and talk to Bill but he was point and I was told to stay in the middle. We walked for miles, reaching a river that was near our meet point on the map, and by this time the sun was rising. We were walking confidently at this point, out of the German's territory enough to not have to worry as much as before. Winters reshuffled the formation and I was now walking with Toye and Bill, the perfect opportunity to get Bill to calm himself.

"You see him? He just sat there." Bill bit out, referring to Winters during the brief fight.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, whatever the reason for his behaviour that point was ridiculous. "He didn't have a weapon. What's he gonna do? Shout at them?" Toye voiced my thoughts perfectly. His tone was softer than I had ever heard it, he was obviously treading carefully.

"No, you should have given him your brass knuckles, then he could have strode into the firing line and punched them." I added on, trying to make Bill see his own stupidity.

"Shouts at me for killing Krauts." Bill chuntered, ignoring what Toye and I had said. We looked at one another and shook our heads, he just needed time to rant.

"He just wanted you to wait for his command." Toye commented.

Bill stopped walking and looked at Toye. "Joe, he don't even drink!" He cried incredulous.

I couldn't help but laugh. "That isn't the worst thing in the world Bill."

"He don't gamble either."

Toye shrugged. "So, that just means he ain't dumb enough to."

Bill sighed. "Do you just want me to say that he is perfect or summit cause it ain't happening." Bill grumbled, looking annoyed that his two best friend's weren't just agreeing with him. We couldn't though because he would just continue with his behaviour.

"No, just don't act like you did again, that will do us." I teased but my tone was firm enough for him to know that he couldn't do it again. The way his shoulders slumped slightly told me we had got to him and it put him into a bit of a sulk that he would come out the other side better off.

The group came across a barn with the field around it strewn with dead bodies, both American and German soldiers. The American soldiers saddened me, thinking about their friends who were dotted around Normandy hoping they were ok. One body was tangled in a tree and I couldn't help but think how easily it could have been me.

Winters sent Lip and Popeye in to survey the area while the rest of us stayed crouched down waiting for the all clear. Once we had got it, Winters went and removed the gun from the soldier in the tree while the rest went to stock up on ammo from the bodies while Malarkey said something about a Luger for his brother.

I tugged an M-1 from one off a soldier's body and unravelled the ammo pack from his body. The body was stiff and ice old, already attracting flies but I tried to move it with as much care as possible. His dog tags caught the sunlight, catching my eye. I started to take them off him and the moved to the next American soldier to do the same. I collected them all until there was only the body left in the tree. I surveyed the tree and thought that I could climb it. I put my foot on one of the notches and started to hike myself up until I was in the branches.

"What are you doing?" I heard a soft voice ask from below. I was close enough at this point to remove the dog tags without having to cut down the body, not wanting to hear the sickening thud of dead weight as it hit the ground. I jumped from the tree and landed gracefully but the landing reverberated through my bruised ribs and made them twinge in pain. It was Winters who had called up to me.

I held up the dog tags as my answer. "Their families should know they have gone at least." I added the dog tags to the collection in my satchel.

Winters was watching me with pitying eyes, as if he knew this was hard on me but I could already feel myself hardening to the bloodshed. He pointed at my neck. "You're bleeding again."

I felt my neck and felt the fresh blood that was flowing. I untied the bandage and retied it tighter than before to apply some pressure. A deafening noise flew overhead and I ducked instinctively. I looked up to see it was planes, Navy planes.

"The landings have started. Let's go." Winters ordered beginning to walk away.

"Let's move it out!" I called, liking that everyone jumped to follow my instructions.

I waited for Toye and Bill to join me when Hall looked at his watch. "Right on time."

"Yeah? Tell that to him, cowboy." He gestured to one of the dead soldiers. I smirked at Bill's tone, it was sharp but it was his normal sharp tone that he used to joke with people.

Hall looked like he didn't know what to reply so just muttered, "My name's Hall." I felt bad for the guy, Bill had already bitten his head off once and now he was too scared to reply which would get Bill to leave him alone.

"That so?" Bill teased, standing while holding a grenade.

Malarkey started to walk next to Hall, ducking his head to talk to him quietly. "You just gotta learn to return his fire, that's all." He advised.

Toye walked towards me, passing Hall and Malarkey. "You just gotta realize it ain't about you." He added on. When he got to me he slapped me on the arse to which I smacked him on the arm. "I needed cheering up, Duch." He clarified, as if that made it ok.

"I just heard his brother…" Malarkey started his voice too loud if I could hear him.

"Malarkey, shut your yap." Bill snapped, coming to walk on my other side. I glanced at him and smiled causing him to nudge me. "You look good with a gun."

I shrugged cockily. "I look good no matter what."

Bill laughed heartily while Toye snorted. He flung his arm around my shoulder dragging me till our helmets clunked together. "That you do."

It didn't take us much longer to get onto the path that lead directly to the meet point. By now my blisters had their own blisters, I was so tired I could have fallen asleep standing up, I was hungry, my ribs were aching like mad, my neck was bleeding on/off and I was on edge about my remaining friends wellbeing. But I knew I wouldn't be able to deal with any of these problems because of the numerous injured men waiting for me at the end of the muddy road I was walking. Malarkey started mocking a bunch of POW's but I couldn't be bothered to listen to him. The others slowed their walking to wait for Malarkey, yelling things at him but I kept up my pace, desperate to see who else had made it back.

As I came to the end of the road, the mud became red. There as a pile of horse carcasses, heaped together. I looked away, unable to bear it. There were soldiers milling everywhere all with different emotions on their faces; some weary, some relieved, some scared, some angry. Each emotion depending on the drop they had had. I rounded a corner where a huge tree was blocking the view and saw Buck stood by a jeep. I started towards him, feeling another piece of anxiety disappear but I was side tracked by someone yelling "Duch!"

I turned and perched on the slight incline behind the tree was Liebgott. He was looking at me like I wasn't real and I found myself speeding towards him, smiling widely. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed, with his hands quickly finding my waist.

"Are you ok?" I held him away from me scanning him for injuries.

He gave me one of his snarky little smirks. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, you look like you've been rollin' in blood."

"I'm fine." I looked around when I heard a moan of pain coming from close by. "That the aide station?" I asked, nodding towards the building that the moan came from.

Liebgott nodded and sighed. "I have a feeling you're about to ditch me for a bunch of bleeding men."

I shrugged. "Duty calls." I patted Petty and Ranney on the back and smiled at them before walking off.

I had to pass the Buck to get to the aide station and he noticed me immediately. "Looks like you've been fighting the invasion single handed."

I smiled. "Well you lot have been slacking." I walked into his open arms and hugged his huge frame. "It's good to see you."

He let me go and pushed me towards the aide station. "Show 'em what your made of."

I walked towards the aide station, the groans of pain getting louder. I started to put up the barrier I had developed in London, the one I needed to not be bothered by the blood and the teared skin, the moans of pain. I walked into to it, greeted by the metallic smell of blood. The room was half full with injured men ranging from superficial shrapnel wounds to gaping wounds. There were four other medics, but it was complete chaos. Medics were treating those with minor injuries first while those in desperate need of attention were left on their own. I put my gun and ammo in a corner and continued to watch the mayhem, making a plan in my head.

I heard someone exhale loudly to the side of me. "I'm glad to see you, _ma cherie." _I turned to see Doc Roe looking relieved.

I smiled lightly at him. "Same goes for you. Doc who's the superior officer here?" I asked talking quickly so that I could fix this mess.

"You are." I was so happy to hear this.

I turned back to the room and quickly took stock of the injuries. "Ok, you go deal with the man over there." I pointed to the solder whose leg looked as though it was going to need amputating. "Shout if you need help."

"Yes, ma'am." He left to do my bidding.

I instantly went to the next medic in sight who was fixing a minor arm wound. "Private, apply a pressure bandage to this and go and help that man there." I point to a man whose stomach wound was bleeding profusely.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" The medic questioned in a sharp tone, continuing to clean the pitiful cut.

"I am 2nd Lieutenant of Easy Company and your superior officer. Now go and do as I say." I ordered, my voice stern and hard while keeping my posture rigid. The medic looked scared of me as he slapped a bandage on the cut and scurried of. I gave the soldier who the medic had been treating a small smile before moving onto the next medic.

One by one I directed the medic's to where they were needed most. More injuries floated in as well as medics looking shell shocked at the mount of blood flowing in the room. It was for many, their first time actually treating serious injuries so it came as a shock to them.

"Serious injuries to the back, minor to the front." I yelled to the room. Those carrying the patients moved quickly, organising the room in the way I had told them. I turned to the white faced medics who had just come in. "Pick a patient at the back and move through the room. Work efficiently, keep bandages tight, look out for shrapnel and remember to mark them with the morphine syrettes." I told them in a stern voice but I could see them slipping into the medic role they had been trained for.

"Yes ma'am." The saluted and went to work.

There had been no fatalities yet. This was probably because those who were injured enough to die were out in a field somewhere, already dead. The men in the aide station had been lucky enough to get back to us, their injuries only becoming serious due to time and exposure.

After an age, I finally managed to treat a patient myself rather than just ordering people around. It was a young soldier who looked terrified of the place he was in with a gushing head wound. It probably wasn't that serious, head wounds just tended to bleed a lot.

I strode towards the soldier, putting on my nurse smile. "Hello, I'm Lieutenant Millard but you can call me Katie." I took the bandage from his hand and continued to hold it to the cut.

"Mitchell from Fox Company, ma'am." His voice shook with fear when he spoke. He winced as I began to remove the bandage slowly. I was right, nothing more than a cut that wouldn't stop bleeding. I tilted his head back and sprinkled some sulpha onto it, only using half a packet because we were running low on supplies. I wrapped a bandage around it and patted him on the shoulder.

"You can go, make sure you eat something to get your blood sugar up again." I directed before moving onto another patient with a piece of shrapnel in his leg.

"Lieutenant Millard!" Rang through the room and I looked up from the leg I was treating. I told the soldier to hold a bandage on it before making my way to the front.

"Yeah?" I asked the scrawny little man who was obviously a runner.

"They've managed to find some medical equipment, ma'am." He told me, not knowing who the 'they' were.

"Do you know where supplies are?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am"

I nodded and looked round the room until I found Doc Roe. "Doc, keep everything in order here for a few minutes." He nodded his agreement as I left the building.

I collected some soldiers together and got them to stand in front of me, with the runner next to me. "You lot follow this guy here…" I patted the runner on the shoulder "… and bring the supplies to the aide station. When you get there put the to the left of the room." I ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." They all replied. It was weird being this in charge, usually I took a back seat not out of laziness but because my expertise were not needed and I didn't want to get in the way. I was in my element now.

"Off you go." They all saluted me and I returned it and they all fell out, following the little runner.

Without the congregation of soldiers in front of me, I saw Easy looking like they were getting ready to leave. "We're going to take German artillery that is firing at the troops coming into Utah." I turned at the soft voice to see it was Winters.

I wanted nothing more than to go over and wish them all luck and tell them to be safe. Hell, I wanted nothing more than to go with them, to keep an eye on them all but I knew I was needed here. As if to prove this point I heard a medic shout behind me. "Lieutenant, your needed over here."

There was a soldier lay on a stretcher, blood gushing from multiple bullet wounds. I ran over, yelling to Winters to tell them all to be safe and that I didn't want to see any of them near this aide station. I slapped my hands over the bullet holes, feeling the hot blood rushing over my hands. The man was screaming in pain. I looked to his jacket to see there were no syrettes on his jacket or a mark on him to say he had had any morphine.

"Someone stick him with some morphine." I ordered as he was carried into the aide station, mine and the other medics hands the only things stemming the blood. I told them to put him down once we had rushed to the back of the room. "Bandages and sulpha, get plenty of both." I ordered to the medic that had appeared at my side, while I started stripping his uniform from his chest. Bandages were handed to me and I started to push them to the wounds. A syrette was pushed into the man's neck and his cries weakened.

Packets of sulpha were handed to me and I lifted each bandage slowly before tipping some sulpha into each one, pressing the bandage back to it when I was done. We tilted his body to the side, seeing that there were no exit wounds, tying the bandages tight around his body yet his position in life was still precarious. I looked to the medic who had been helping me. "There's nothing more we can, if one of his vital organs was hit then it's only a matter of time." I pressed an ear to his heart and heard a faint but steady heartbeat. "His heartbeat is faint but steady so I'd say that was missed. If a surgeon rears his head, this man needs help first."

I looked around the room to see that all those with serious injuries were wrapped and ready to evacuate as soon as possible with only minor injuries left to treat. That would change quickly when there was another influx on injuries but for now we were ok.

For ten minutes I circled the room, treating a few minor injuries and sending the soldiers off. A soldier came up to me to give me warning of an influx of causalities. I told the rest of the medics before going to the supply boxes and sorting them so each had a bit of everything, beginning to place them round the room. I had just finished putting the last box down when someone grabbed my arm.

"What is…?" I began to ask but my eyes clashed with deep brown ones and my heart stuttered. "You're alive."

Speirs's eyes were as hard as always, his face stony. "So are you though from what I hear, barely."

The large niggling of anxiety I had been feeling slipped almost completely away. I hadn't allowed myself to admit that I was as worried about him as I had been about my friends and seeing him in front of me, as arrogant and stern as ever made me feel one step below euphoric.

I let a smirk cross my face. "I didn't do anything reckless or suicidal." I assured him.

He shook his head, pulling me a little closer as if he didn't realise he was doing it. "You just attract trouble." He took my chin in his hand and turned it, eyeing the dirty bandage around my neck. I had forgotten about the cut but now that his eyes were on it, I felt that my neck was moist indicating it had started bleeding again recently. "Why haven't you had this seen to?" he asked, his voice taking that edge that usually made people do what he wanted.

"I've been busy, sir." I told him, which had been the truth.

"You need to get it treated." He kept my chin in his fingers so that I was forced to look in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "No time, sir." I replied simply, not wanting to get into a big argument with him.

I could hear groans of pain approaching, which told me the new casualties were on their way. I pulled my arm out of his hold and started towards the door, ready to direct the casualties to where they needed to go. There was plenty of space since minor injuries had been discharged. "Everyone on your feet, new wave coming in!" I yelled to the medics but I could hear heavy boots behind me.

A hand on my shoulder pulled me round. "Get it looked at now, Katie." He demanded. For some reason I found him even more attractive when he get like this and I felt myself blush at the thought. His eyes dipped to my lips before returning to my eyes, glaring.

I pushed his hand off my shoulder as the first of the wounded entered the aide station. "There are people's lives at risk and you are still only trying to get me to follow your orders."

He looked spitting mad at my words but I didn't have time to dwell on it. Instead I started barking orders, telling people where to go and to start treating people. I watched Speirs's back as it retreated, his posture rigid with anger. Soon there was at least one medic to each critical patient and I found myself helping Doc with a man whose leg was half off.

"Lieutenant, help please!" Someone shouted form the other side of the room. I looked at Doc and he nodded, telling me he had this under control. I wiped my hands on a rag and rushed over to where I was called.

The man who had shouted was a particularly young medic who I had already assisted a few times. He didn't seem to believe in his ability and constantly wanted reassurance. He was currently working on a man who looked like he had walked into a grenade explosion, with his body mangled. His skin was torn and burnt and he was going into shock. The medics hands were shaking and I gabbed them, placing them firmly on a bandage to apply pressure.

"Has he had any morphine?" I asked softly. The medic shook his head, looking at me like I was going to reprimand him. I quickly got a syrette and stabbed him with it, hoping the reduction in pain would stop him going any further into shock.

I started doing what I could to his wounds but it was no good. I could see it happening, I could see he was going to be the first person to die here, under my care. I looked at the medic and could see he knew it. Blood started bubbling out of his mouth and he choked on it. There was nothing I could do. I let my hands slip from his body and I looked to the medic over the deceased's body.

I nodded. "Get some men to take his body into the other room. Find out what Company he is in and take his dog tags to the CO." I ordered, patting the medic on the shoulder. I moved onto the next patient, blocking the death from my mind.

Fifteen minutes later, all the critical patients had been treated again, two more had died. It seemed to shock all the medics but I could see it had also hardened them, they started working with a cool efficacy they hadn't before. The losses, though terrible, had made them better medics.

A new stretcher was brought in, containing Popeye on it. I rushed over. "Popeye, I told you I didn't want to see any of Easy in here."

He sighed heavily as the soldiers carrying him placed him down, he was lay on his front which was odd but I followed he trail of blood and realised he had been hit in the bum. "I didn't mean to fuck up." He muttered in his southern accent.

I smirked. "I'm gonna have to cut your trousers a bit so keep still." I warned him.

"You just want a glimpse of my ass, don't you Duch." He teased as I took my pair of scissors and started to cut away his trousers.

"Who'd want to look at you scrawny arse." I countered. I was looking at his arse and it really was scrawny. It wasn't too bad of a wound, the bullet was lodged deep in his muscle and was stemming the bleeding but it was going to hurt to dig out.

"I've gotta dig out the bullet so try and stay as still as possible." I cleaned the area around it and took out my tweezers. "So how are everyone else?" I asked, nervous about the answer but wanting him to talk about something else to keep his mind off of it. I begin to dig and he winced.

"They're all good, taking the guns by storm." He told me, as he squeezed the material underneath him. He started to tell me how they were taking each gun while I dug to get the bullet out. He winced and groaned but never stopped talking, he was a good patient. Finally I got it out and I was right, it was stemming the blood. I quickly put a bandage on top of the wound, pressing down while I opened a sulpha packet with my teeth. I sprinkled it on before getting ready to tie the bandage. I wrapped it around him and tied it tight.

"Your all good Popeye." I patted his thigh and went to the next patient.

I worked non-stop for eight hours. Everything would settle and then a new wave of injuries would come in, adrenaline would pick up and then it would settle again. There was even a point that I had time to get Doc Roe to check my neck and get it patched up. There were enough medics that I sent groups off one at a time to eat and rest for two hours each before they would return and another group would leave. Finally, a medic of a higher rank turned up and he came straight to me. We had lost six men by this point.

"You've been in charge here, Lieutenant?" He asked, eyeing the bodies around me.

"Yes, sir. Critical patients have been going to the back and when there is a large number of them, it's all hands on deck to get them sorted and then we go back to the minor injuries while two medics keep watch of the criticals. There are boxes of supplies around the room, all with a bit of everything in. We also managed to get pots of water boiling so we are cleaning bandages as we speak. All of the medics have had rest and food since they got here." I rattled off the information to him and then went on to tell him which critical patients needed to be evacuated first.

"I'm impressed. I thought this place would be a shambles when I walked in." He complimented. "You're dismissed." He added, turning to walk towards a patient.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"We have enough medic's and like you said they have all been rested and fed and a good protocol has been put in place and will continue to be used. Besides, Easy are moving out in five minutes to Culoville so restock your bag." He turned away and left me.

I was so grateful yet felt guilty to be leaving the aide station. I did as he had ordered, restocking my bag with supplies and grabbed my helmet, gun, and ammo. It was getting dark outside by this point and we were all on noise and light discipline. My adrenaline levels dropped instantly as I left the aide station and weariness and hunger took over. I rushed to find Easy and I heard my name being shouted. I turned to see it was Nix sat atop a tank with Winters.

"Thank God you found us Duch, we all thought we were going to leave without you." Nix called.

I smiled. He held his hand out to me and I scrambled in-between him and Winters. "Please tell me we're not going to meet any resistance, intelligence officer Nix." I pleaded, thinking my weary body would not be able to put up with another fight.

He shook his head, his helmet shaking. "None at all. It's not too far either, about 45 minutes."

"How's Wynn?" Winters asked from the other side of me.

"He's fine. He's going to have to go to hospital though and make sure there's no muscle damage, the bullet was in there pretty deep."

Winters scanned my face. "Have you rested at all?"

I gave a small smile. "I couldn't let the aide station go back to the mess it was when we turned up."

Winters shook his head while Nix looked at me with and amused grin. "Seriously, you fell into a tree, fought a kraut, sniped some machine gun operators, killed some more krauts, walked how far to the meet point and then took over the aide station for eight hours. You are unbelievable."

I laughed. "You think I'm not aware of how awesome I am?" I joked. All I did today was do my job, I didn't need to be commended for it.

Nix patted his shoulder. "Get some sleep." He ordered softly so I placed my head on his shoulder, our helmets knocking together and shut my eyes. I was asleep in moments.

I slept the entire way to Culoville and Nix was right, there was no resistance. Nix woke me up gently and I felt no more refreshed than before I slept. I jumped from the jeep, saluting the two of them and went to see if I could find the rest of Easy. I was walking down the street when I saw smoke billowing out the top of a stationary truck. I then heard laughter which I recognised instantly.

I walked to the back of the truck and lifted the material flap. Inside was Liebgott, Bill, Lip, Malarkey, Toye, Buck and Petty.

The smell hit me before they could even notice me. "What the fuck is that smell?" I covered my nose, trying to protect myself from it.

They all looked at me, smiling broadly. "That would be Malarkey's cooking." Buck told me.

"You coming in?" Liebgott asked.

"Well, I don't have anywhere better to be." Liebgott lowered the back and Toye held out a hand to me, pulling me inside and sitting me next to him, while Liebgott closed the back again.

Toye held out a bottle for me, which I gladly took, swigging it back to find it was whiskey. I enjoyed the slight burn in my throat, taking a second hit before handing it back to him. "God it's been a long day."

"You can say that again." Petty murmured.

"Popeye said you all took the guns by storm."

"Of course we did." Bill grinned. "Is he gonna be alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I do feel bad for him though." I told them with a sad voice.

"Why?" Toye asked.

"He's got one scrawny arse, it must be uncomfortable to sit on it even without a bullet hole." They all burst out laughing.

"I swear Speirs is one crazy son of a bitch though." Malarkey commented from over his pot of whatever the hell he was cooking, instantly getting my attention.

"What did he do?" Bill looked at me and smirked, obviously hearing the interest in my voice.

"He came running out of nowhere with ammo all around his neck and asked if D-Company could take the next gun. Then he runs at the next gun like a mad man and got out of the trench putting himself under full fire." Buck told the story and my heart was in my throat.

"Did he get hit?" I asked, my voice sounding strangled.

Toye shook his head. "Not even a graze, the lucky bastard."

"He seemed angry as hell about something. Like he needed to kill someone to calm down." Lip muttered.

They were all watching me for my reaction to what Lip had said. He was angry about me and he had nearly got himself killed because of it. "Why are you looking at me? I didn't do anything."

Liebgott scoffed. "He said he was coming from the aide station when he heard we were low on ammo."

I raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't mean I pissed him off." I countered

Malarkey smirked. "Why else was he at the aide station if not to talk to you?"

I shrugged. "There was some of Dog Company injured. Maybe he came to check on them."

Petty shook his head. "I spoke to Doc about the casualties. He said D-Company had had no injured soldiers come in." They all continued to stare at me to see what lie I would tell next.

"Who the hell are you lot, Sherlock Holmes?"

Liebgott smirked and then grimaced as another wave of the foul smell wafted over to the end of the truck. "I'm out of here." He complained.

"Come on, what?" Malarkey grumbled, watching as Liebgott stood to leave.

"I don't want to die in the back of this damn truck, that's what!" Liebgott went to step over Toye's legs but caught his ankle with his boot before kicking me in the shin.

I smacked him on the back while Toye groaned "Come on, your stepping on my legs."

Liebgott lifted the flap and gifted us with some sweet smelling fresh air. "Jesus, let me outta here."

He jumped out but didn't close the flap out him letting the glowering amber light from the fire seep out. "Light discipline guys. Bill close the flap." I ordered.

He scooted over and grabbed the flap, pulling it back into place. "Let the krauts cook their own goddam food." He griped. I smiled at him. He seemed back to good old Wild Bill again and I was happy to see him. "How we doing Malark?"

Malarkey lifted the spoon he was using to stir whatever was in the pot and tasted it. He nodded his head. "We're doing good."

Buck leaned over to look in the pot. "Yeah? What the hell do you know about cooking; you're Irish."

I leant over Toye and smacked Buck in the arm. "I'm half Irish!" I scolded.

Buck raised an eyebrow. "And can you cook?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not even a boiled egg." The guys all laughed at my response. It was true, I just couldn't cook for the life of me, I burnt everything or it tasted awful.

"Sir…" Malarkey started, addressing Buck. "…if you have a reservation someplace else, I'd be happy to go with you."

Malarkey picked up the pot and tipped some onto Toye's waiting plate getting a gruff "thank you" in response.

"Come on Duch, get your plate out. I heard you haven't eaten all day." Malarkey told me.

I shook my plate out of my bag and held it out, smiling my thanks to Malarkey as he tipped some of the, what I guessed was stew onto my plate. I put a spoonful into my mouth and found it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.

The truck was stifling, with almost no air coming in. Bill stuck his head out the flap, gasping. "Jesus Christ, give me some air."

I kept my eyes on my plate. "Light, Bill." I told him again referring to the strict light discipline we were under. He immediately put his head back in and lit a cigarette. They started telling me the story of Malarkey running out to find a Luger which had me laughing until I was crying, their laughter surrounding me.

Winters head popped under the flap just as the story ended and the laughter started to die down.

"Evening." He greeted, looking round the tent at us all.

"Hello, sir." Bill replied before taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Did something die in here?" Winters asked, wincing when the smell hit him.

We all sniggered while Petty answered with "Yeah, Malarkeys ass."

"Any word on Lieutenant Meehan, sir?" Buck asked. For some reason I hadn't even noticed Meehan was missing, too preoccupied with other things and other worries. I was still worried for those not yet accounted for especially Luz and Tab.

Winters shook his head. "No, not yet."

"Doesn't that make you our commanding officer, sir?" Bill questioned, looking quite pleased at the notion. Meehan would have been good but Winters would be great. He had more respect than any other officer I had met and had proved himself to be more than competent on numerous occasions.

"Yeah, it does." Winters answered softly. Bill gave him a nod showing his approval. He looked to me and then to the plate I was holding. "Oh good, you got something to eat."

I nodded. "Yeah and as disgusting as it smells, it ain't half bad."

"The Irish." Buck muttered with and eye roll, earning himself a glare from me and Malarkey.

Toye held out the bottle of whiskey to Winters. "Sir?" he offered.

"Joe, the lieutenant don't drink." Bill reminded, gesturing to Winters.

Winters took the bottle and nodded his thanks to Toye. "Today as been a day of firsts." He took a tentative swig, grimacing at the taste that made us all smile softly. He held the bottle out to Bill. "Don't you think Guarnere?"

I couldn't help but smirk at Winters. "Yes, sir." Bill answered, taking the bottle and taking a drink. I held my hand out for the bottle and he passed it to me. I took a healthy draw, again enjoying the burning feeling.

"Carry on." He gave a nod to me while everyone said good night to him before going to leave but he returned a second later. "Oh, sergeant?" He was looking at Bill.

"Sir?"

"I'm not a Quaker." Winters whispered before leaving. This cracked us all up, laughing loudly.

"He's probably a Mennonite." Bill stated.

I shook my head still laughing. "What's a Mennonite?" Toye asked before drinking some more of the whiskey.

I finished my food while we all laughed and talked. Once I had finished my plate, I twisted so that my back was against the back of the truck and my knees were drew up. I rested my head against the trucks side and shut my eyes, weariness overtaking me. I felt someone's hands on my ankles and it was Toye, pulling my legs so that they were stretched out and I was more comfortable.

We had survived D-Day, I couldn't have been more grateful for the warm food in my belly, the chance to go to sleep and my friends around me. I just had to see what tomorrow bought.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! **

**I'm know that in the TV series Luz is already with Easy when Tab returns but it was better for yours truly to have them come in at the same time so no complaints please though I doubt anyone is as picky as me with a detail like this. **

**Again this is a long one. I honestly don't expect them to be this long but then I can't stop writing and can't find a good place to start a new chapter at. **

_June 8__th,__ 1944_

It took a couple of days for Luz and Tab to turn up, days of non-stop worrying with my hope they were alive depleting each day. I kept myself busy by organising the evacuation of the wounded and treating those who got infections. We hadn't moved on from Culoville; according to Nix, Easy were staying put until it was the right time to take Carentan, and by that I assumed he meant until more of Easy turned up. People had shown up in little clusters including Bull, Perconte, Muck, Martin, Christenson, and Grant.

I was sat up against a war memorial, speaking to Frank and Dukeman about Burgess who had been hit with some shrapnel in the face. I had been kicked out of the medic tent again, told I was working ridiculous hours. "He's gonna be fine." I told them.

"Except he's gonna be scarred for the rest of his life." Dukeman added.

Frank shrugged. "The dame's will love that though, war wounds on a war hero."

I laughed before smacking Frank in the head. "Is that all you think about?"

He looked at me like I was insane. "What else is there?"

"Has anyone see the Duchess?" I heard a loud jovial voice ask from behind a truck. I looked up and stood, waiting to see who it was.

Liebgott turned. "Well look who decided to finally show up!" He smirked in his snarky tone.

A crowd gathered around the new comers and someone pointed towards me. "She's there Luz."

The crowd parted slightly and Luz stepped forward, smiling as he always did. He was acting like he hadn't been missing in German occupied territory, like I wouldn't have been sat worrying about him and Tab every second that my mind wasn't preoccupied with something else. His smile only grew when his eyes set on me. "You missed me, Duch?" He teased.

I ran at him and hit him with such force we both fell to the floor. He hugged me tight and for a moment I didn't care that we were lay in amongst a bunch of soldiers. I was just glad to have him back.

"Duch?" I heard a voice ask. I looked up to see it was Tab, looking at me as if he wasn't sure I existed. I scrambled off Luz, who complained at the loss of contact with me and flung myself at Tab who managed to not fall under my added weight.

His hands rubbed my back as if he was checking I was real. "I didn't know if you'd have made it back." He whispered, his voice shaking a little.

I let him go and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Have some fucking faith in me Tab." I smiled. Everyone I cared deeply for was safe or as safe as they could be.

I took a step back from the two of them, scanning them for injuries before clipping them both over the head. "Where the hell have you been? Do you not understand how worried I've been? You couldn't have walked any faster?" I demanded.

Tab scoffed. "You think we haven't been just as worried about you? It's not our fault we fell so far outside the DZ." He defended himself.

Shifty and Smokey stepped out of the crowd, Shifty who was usually so well put together was so dishevelled it took me by surprise. I hugged them both quickly telling them I was glad to see them too.

Liebgott appeared next to Tab, nudging him in the arm. "Hey, Tab. Get a load of this." He held up a Nazi flag that he had recently looted and was very proud of.

"It's the real stuff?" Luz asked, rubbing the material between his thumb and forefinger.

"Yeah, of course." Liebgott answered, snatching it out of Luz's hold like he was going to soil it. Luz replied simply by smirking at him.

Tab started rooting in his bag and then held up a Kraut rain poncho. "You like this?" Like Liebgott he looked proud of himself.

I didn't like the men's obsession with looting dead bodies. I could take it when it was for ammo because that was necessary but I could understand why they did it. They wanted something to take home and show off proudly, they wanted something to prove what they had been though. This however didn't make it any easier for me to swallow. It just showed how they were getting harder as men, unaffected by dead bodies. I got that this hardening was necessary; hell I had done it to deal with the copious amounts of blood I had to deal with but none of us should have to be this hard to death.

Tab grabbed my hands and looked at them intensely. "Jesus, Duch. This is a bit grim."

He was referring to my blood caked hands. There were light smears of blood across my skin but my nails were crusted with the substance. There wasn't much running water so I hadn't been able to scrub them properly.

I shrugged. "Occupational hazard. Hot, right?" I joked, making the three of them laugh.

"Most definitely." Luz replied with a smile.

"Let's go! First platoon!" Harry's voice carried across the courtyard.

Men weren't moving quick enough for my liking. "1st Platoon on your feet! Get moving!" I ordered as I passed the war monument, picking up my gun, helmet and pack. People started to move faster on my command.

"Well someone's found their Lieutenant voice." Luz teased. His eyes found the gun I was carrying. "And a gun?"

I shrugged. "Both became necessary."

We made our way over to Harry who had just took a drink form his canteen, shuddering at the taste. I guessed it wasn't water.

"Listen up. It will be dark soon so I want noise and light discipline from here on." he ordered while he put away his canteen. Harry was a good leader despite his penchant for alcohol and I liked him. "No talking, no smoking and no playing grab fanny with the man in front of you Luz."

The men sniggered. "What if it's a girl in front of me?" Luz asked seriously.

"Then definitely no grab fanny Luz." I order while smiling.

"Don't get your hopes up Duch, when I said girl I was referring to Tab here." He ruffled Tab's hair who smacked his hand away and gave Luz a glare. I laughed at the two of the, overjoyed to have them back.

"So where we heading to Lieutenant?" A soldier I didn't know asked.

"We're taking Carentan."

"That sounds like fun." Frank moaned.

"It's the only place that armour form Omaha and Utah beach can link up and head inland." I told the group, remembering the maps I had studied.

Harry nodded. "Lieutenant Duchess is right." I smirked at the name. "Until we take Carentan they are stuck on the sand. General Taylor is sending the whole division."

Luz sighed and went into a General Taylor impression that made everyone smile. "Give me three days and three nights of hard fighting and you will be relived."

Hoob crossed in front of me. "Lieutenant, I'll take point."

Harry nodded. "Hoobler will be lead scout." He looked into the crowd, adjusting his bag strap. "Blithe, glad you could join us."

I followed Harry's eyes to a shy, scared looking blonde man. "Thank you, sir." He responded respectfully.

"1st platoon fall in behind Fox Company." I rolled my eyes, Fox Company were a bunch of idiots who I would be surprised if they could tell there left from right. "You people from 2nd and 3rd platoons, follow us. Shake a leg."

We all started walking, following Hoob and Harry. "And remember boys, flies spread diseases…" Luz started, back in his General Taylor impression.

"So keep yours closed." Luz, Tab and I finished the joke together, smiling at one another.

"You gonna explain at what point you were given a gun then?" Tab asked.

I shrugged. "I wasn't really given it. When I dropped in I picked one up, used it a couple of times and no one's took it off me so…" I let my sentence tail off because no one had outright given me permission to have a gun but no one had took it off me either.

"Is everyone else ok?" Luz questioned, eyeing me slightly nervously.

"Burgess took a hit in the face, Popeye one in the arse. You best get thinking of some jokes for when he gets back." I told Luz, smiling as I did so. "Everyone that I can think of has turned up, no one has mentioned anyone missing past you two, Shifty and Smokey. Oh, no one from Lieutenant Meehan's plane has been seen." I had forgotten the last piece of news due to the fact it had become old news fairly quickly. I was already settled in with Winters being our new CO.

We let our conversation drop to comments here and there as we got out of town to adhere to the noise discipline. It was a long walk and it was made even longer because we had to keep stopping to find Fox Company as the kept getting lost. We got to an area where the land was strewn with dead German soldiers and there were fires dotted about the place. We were making good progress when I heard Hoob mutter "dammit" under his breath.

Harry moved next to him. "What?"

Hoob sighed. "We lost F Company, sir."

I rolled my eyes. It had been funny the first time, hell it had been funny the second but now on the fifth time, it was just damn infuriating. "Again?" Frank came and stood next to me, giving me a questioning look. "We lost F Company."

"Again?" he exclaimed and shook his head. "Hey, Blithe, Skinny guess what?"

"Frank, go spread the word to get everyone to hold up. We gotta find these idiots before we move on." I ordered.

"Yes ma'am." He walked off to do as I had said. It was odd having Easy call me 'ma'am' on occasion but I could deal with it as long as it was only when I had given an order.

"Hoobler, take Blithe and go find F Company." Harry directed, the two of them walking off to find them.

We all stood around for ten minutes before I went and stood next to Harry. "You know I think it would probably be more beneficial to the war effort to leave them out here."

Harry smirked. "Yeah I wish we could just leave 'em." Harry slapped himself in the face, trying to hit a gnat and it made me laugh.

Winters and Nix came storming over, not looking happy at all. "Did you send somebody…?" Winters began to ask.

Harry cut him off in an annoyed tone. "Yeah, I got Hoobler and Blithe out there." I could understand Harry's annoyed tone. Winters seemed to be doing a lot of micro-managing at the moment and it was beginning to annoy people. For once, everyone who was in charge was actually more than competent so no one needed checking up on but I suppose he was just trying to make sure he did his job right.

"Why have we stopped?" Nix demanded.

Harry was too busy drinking from his canteen so I answered for him. "Lost F Company."

Nix shook his head in disbelief. "This is about officers crapping out on their training, Nix." Winters told him while looking at his watch. "Come on, let's get this show on the road."

He started in the direction Hoob had left in with Nix on his heels. "Harry can I go?" I asked, I was fed up of just standing about.

He shrugged. "Don't get hurt." He turned his attention back to his canteen and I made my way over to Winters and Nix, walking quickly to catch up.

"God, you're like the annoying little sister we can't get rid of." Nix teased once I was walking next to him.

I scoffed. "You're not even carrying a gun, you'll be happy I'm here if a German pops out."

We walked in silence for a bit, making our way into the trees. "Any knowledge about numbers in Carentan?" I asked Nix.

"Supposedly a regiment. How big that regiment is, is unknown."

"And they call you the intelligence office." I shook my head in mock disappointment and Nix shoved me playfully.

"About Carentan…" Winters started. "…I want you to be a sniper."

I couldn't help but beam, I had hoped he would ask me when he became CO. "For what platoon, sir?"

"Well, I want you to remember that you are a nurse first, soldier second so if you hear a medic call, you go to the first. Because of this there is no point putting you in a platoon because you will more than likely be separated from them."

I nodded. "So you just want me to float about?"

"For lack of a better phrase, yes. I turst your instincts and knowledge about battle. You will go into Carentan between 1st and 2nd platoon and find a position that will let you do your job. Remember what I said, nurse first, understood." Winters sounded serious about this and I couldn't blame him. It was no good having one extra soldier if all the men were dropping like flies because there weren't enough medics.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for this." I said, gratefully.

"Geez, his sending you into combat where you could possibly get shot, I wouldn't be thanking him." Nix grumbled.

I laughed before squinting into the dark, seeing a figure moving about. I could make out a head of blonde hair which tipped me off to who it was. "Blithe's right there." I pointed through the bushes.

Winters looked at me oddly. "How can you even see him? Its pitch black."

We made our way towards him and when we got there, he was pointing his gun at a dead German, looking afraid and jumpy.

"He's dead private." Winters told him as we appeared out of the bushes. Blithe swung his gun on his but the second he saw who it was, he dropped it. He was panting for breath, he seemed terrified. "Did you locate F Company?"

"Yes, sir." Blithe whispered. He turned to look at the soldier. "I thought… I thought he had me." He stuttered, taking a step towards the body.

Nix stepped up next to Blithe and he looked at the badge sewn onto the Krauts uniform. "_Fallshcirmjäger._" He read from the badge.

"Paratrooper?" Blithe asked.

Nix nodded. "Division thinks there is a regiment of the holding Carentan."

I sighed heavily. "Taking Carentan is going to be harder than I thought, we all know what paratroopers are like." Winters and Nix looked at me with a smile. Paratroopers were tough and stubborn, no matter what side they were on.

"Well, there's one less to worry about." Winters noted.

Blithe fingered the soldier's lapel where a small, delicate white flower was residing. "That's Edelweiss." I told Blithe.

"Mark of a true soldier because it only grows in the Alps above the tree line, he must have climbed there to get it." Nix continued my piece of knowledge.

"Come on, we need to get on the move again." Winters started to talk to Blithe about where F Company were.

Watching Blithe, I decided I needed to keep an eye on him. He was far more nervous than any of the other men, he was clammy, he stuttered and everything made him jump. Definitely had to keep an eye on him if possible.

_D-Day plus 6, Carentan_

All of Easy were crouched at the edge of Carentan. I was at the front of 2nd platoon, the logic being the others would serge forward, firing would start and then I would know where I had to be to snipe those necessary. All my friends were dotted about, all having my pre-battle warning to be safe or I would kill them and each of them took up a piece of worry in me. Luz, however, was who I was most worried for. He was at the front with Harry and would be the second soldier to enter Carentan. He would be out in the open with no knowledge of where the fire would come from.

Winters was looking at his watch and was speaking to Harry but he was too far in front for me to hear. He stared at his watch for about ten seconds and I could clearly see him say "go" to Harry. And so it began.

Harry whisper shouted to 1st platoon. "Let's go 1st, let's go!"

He ran forward, Luz hot and his heels with the rest of first following and then the rest of us. I only made it about five steps before the machine gun fire started. Soldiers dropped to the ground, either injured or dead. Another soldier screamed "in the ditch! Down! Down!" and everyone followed his order, desperate to get out of sight. But now they were sitting ducks, perfect targets to be shot at.

I glanced into Carentan and could see where the fire was coming from; the bottom, middle window and top right and top left window of the café. Movement caught my eyes and I saw two soldiers had made it through and to cover. The black box on one of the backs told me one of them was Luz.

"Get those MG's moving would ya!" Strayer screamed from safety.

Winters was out in the open just like I was screaming at people to move. I looked to the left at me, catching sight of scared faces, not able to move.

"Get yourselves moving! Get out of the ditch!" I yelled over the machine fire. I could hear the bullets hitting the ground, making a clunking sound and disturbing gravel. I grabbed one of the solders and pushed him forward. "Do you want to be a sitting target?! Move yourselves! Now!"

Adrenaline pumped through me that made me feel invisible, neither panic nor fear coming near me. I continued to yell until they got moving. Once a healthy amount started into Carentan, I looked for a position that I would be most useful in. I found a place, to the left of the café there was a ridge that I would be able to hide behind and be able to take out the bottom gun.

I started to run to the left, two other soldiers who I didn't know with me, obviously seeing the same opportunity I did. I saw Lip's squad going to the right while the rest scattered to find sufficient cover and then work from there. I moved swiftly, crashing through a gate and falling into position, my back slamming against the wall so I was out of sight, my gun pulled up against me. There was a clucking noise behind me and I realised I was by a chicken coop.

One of the soldiers who had been following me dropped to the floor, hit by a bullet. The other pressed himself against the wall opposite from me. I eyed the soldier on the floor, he wasn't moving so I looked to see where he was bleeding. The blood was coming from his head, a quick death. The soldier opposite me looked to me and then made to go forward, keeping his eyes on me. I shook my head sharply, signalling that he was already dead.

There was now machine gun fire from our previous position just outside of Carentan as well as regular gun fire from the right side of the town. It was all so noisy that my ears were already beginning to ring.

The soldier opposite me, unpinned one of his grenades and threw it towards the café. It missed its target, only kicking up a bit of debris. Before I could blink, the soldier crumpled to the floor, bleeding from the centre of his forehead. I thought of the layout of my town in my head, trying to remember what I saw as I ran through. It clicked in my head, there was a warehouse with an iron staircase, the perfect spot for a sniper in the kraut coloured uniform to hide and not be easily spotted. He continued to fire, changing his target to the direction that Lip's squad would be positioned.

I knew I had to work quickly so that I didn't draw the attention of the machine gun. I took a deep breath and stepped out, spotting the flesh colour immediately. I took aim and took one shot before stepping back, taking another deep breath. The ceasing of firing from that direction told me I had hit my target.

I needed to take out the machine gun as soon as possible. Rather than stepping out, I just positioned myself so that my gun was poking out. They were further into the building than I expected so they were basically in the shadows which meant it took me longer to take aim. I finally managed to pinpoint one and pulled the trigger. The machine stopped firing for a moment but then the remaining operator had a new target and started firing in my direction.

I hid behind the wall and before my eyes squeezed close in fear, I saw he wasn't aiming at me, he was aiming at the platoon that were running behind me to get into their own position. I had to hold back a girly scream as the bullets hit the wall I was behind, hit the chickens I was stood next to, making them cluck wildly and stir up a bunch of feathers.

In that moment, the adrenaline didn't help, I no longer felt invincible, I thought I was going to die. My mind went to my grandparents and my friends, how they were going to react when they got the news. Then they went to Speirs. I wondered what would have come out of our meetings as the war went on. I cared for him, did he care for me? Did he feel like I did when he was around?

The assault stopped when the sound of a grenade rang out. I was panting like I had just ran a marathon. I came from behind the wall to see Harry underneath the window that had smoke billowing out of it. He had threw the grenade into the window, he had basically saved my life. Lip and Frank ran alongside the café and tripped when a kraut came barrelling out of it, clutching a hand gun. He went to take aim at Frank, my hands moved by themselves as I shot him twice.

The two of them looked to me. I was still panting. "You alright, Lieutenant?" Lip shouted.

There was a cry for a medic over to the right side which kicked me back into action. I shook my head to clear my thoughts before holding my thumb up to tell him I was good. I ran so that I was underneath the café and ran alongside of it, passing Lip, Frank and Shifty who had joined them. They were attempting secure the warehouse.

I followed the medic cry's to find Doc already patching up the guys shoulder. I ran to cover, making a plan in my head of where to go next. To take out the machine guns at the top I would have to get far back to get the right angle or go into the building both of which were stupid ideas to do on my own. There was another cry for a medic so I began towards it, just as 2nd platoon spread out. I spotted Bill but a grey blur caught my eye. A kraut soldier was hid behind a building, taking aim at Bill. I didn't think as I lifted my gun and shot, not taking the time to think about my aim. He fell to the ground instantly, the shot being a fatal blow.

I carried on moving towards the cry for a medic, passing Luz and Hoob throwing grenades into windows and then storming the building. I found the wounded soldier, he was in the middle of the road with no cover. Blood was gushing from his stomach but he was still conscious and was smart enough to have his hand over the bleed. I needed to move him before I could do anything.

"Keep your hand where it is, Private." I ordered while I slung my gun over my shoulder. I grabbed his bag strap by his shoulder and the shoulder of his jacket and started to drag him to the left where there was a building he could stay behind. It took all my strength to get him to move, the debris scattered about causing a lot of friction. The material hurt my fingers as I pulled and tugged until I finally got him under cover.

I rooted through my bag finding a sulpha packet, syrette and a bandage. I moved his hand, pressing the bandage to the wound. I tugged the top off the morphine with my teeth and plunged it into his neck, his whimpers of pain dying. Pulling the bandage off slightly to give myself enough room to sprinkle on some of the sulpha before pushing it back on. I rolled him towards me to get the bandage strap behind his back. The bullet was still lodged inside of him with their being no exit wound. I tied it tight before putting the morphine syrette on his jacket.

I had no choice but to leave him there until the aide station was set up. I couldn't move him any further but at least he would be safe where he was. I stayed still for a moment, listening for a yell that would bring me to my feet again and got it moments later. I was off back into the fray, following the groans of pain.

"They got us zeroed! Move!" Lip was yelling from the warehouse stairs. I didn't know what he was on about but I quickly learnt. There was an explosion up ahead of me, making me crouch for cover. A solder was thrown back, but I couldn't see the damage with the smoke. Once that had cleared I could see he no longer had his left leg. Below his knee was all red, blood and torn flesh. I ran towards him, grabbing a bandage as I went.

"Hey, you're gonna be alright." I told him as he cried in pain. I quickly wrapped the bandage around his stump before grabbing a syrette and jabbing him with it. Bull came out of the house that we were outside of, looking at the soldier's leg. The groans of pain had lessened but not died completely. "Bull pick him up and take him behind that building." I ordered, pointing to where the soldier I had just fixed up was. It was the best place for anyone, it was out of the firing range and good cover at least until we set up an aide station.

"Yes, ma'am." Bull picked the soldier easily, using his remaining leg as support as he put him on his shoulder.

I ran for cover of my own and bumped shoulders with someone behind a blown out wall. I looked at them to find it was Tab. He looked relieved to see me.

I sighed. "At least I know you're ok." I panted out. I couldn't believe how out of breath I was. I had done do much running along walls and the adrenaline was getting to me.

"Same for you." He replied.

I looked out behind the wall to see Lip stood out in the open. He was signalling everyone to move. "Move! Move! Get out of the street!" He yelled. Take your own orders, I thought.

A shell landed in front of him, throwing him backwards. My heart stopped, my mind going to what had just happened to the other soldier who now only had one leg. I rushed forward, hearing heavy boots following me. As I got closer I could see he was alive and had both legs. I dropped to the side of him, scanning his body for blood, landing on his face, hand and groin. The face cut would be fine, a couple of stiches and he would set. The blood on his groin however worried me.

Tab landed on the other side of him and started wrapping his bandana around his arm as make-do tourniquet. "Hey, buddy." Tab greeted softly.

Lip was staring at his groin, obviously worried he was missing vital parts. I didn't think twice about reaching for his trousers and expanding the tear that was already there to peer inside. I patted him on the thigh. "You're all good Lip, everything is exactly where it is supposed to be." I assured him. He nodded his head, obviously way past embarrassment when losing his man parts came in.

I got out a bandage and tied it tight round his thigh, I planned to take him myself but there was a collection calls for a medic, all coming from different directions so I looked to Tab. "Can you take it from here?"

He nodded. "Be careful, Duch."

"You too." I looked around to pick which direction to run in, choosing to run to my left, back past where I had just come. I ran along the building fronts, seeing Tipper run into a building up ahead. I stopped in an alley and looked across the street to see if there were any injured there. There were no bodies so I came out of the alley and continued down my original path.

I passed Liebgott and some other soldier and nodded towards them. I heard a whistling behind me before the shop front I was passing exploded, throwing me to the side and raining glass and rock over me. I groaned at the pain from the throw, I started to move to get up but my left arm protested slightly. I looked to see it was because a shard of glass was lodged in it. The left side of my face was hurting too, I guessed it had been scratched up from the debris.

"Duch, you ok?" Liebgott asked, rushing over from where he was before.

I immediately started looking through my medic bag, grabbing a bandage from it. "Lieb, pull the piece of glass out." He looked at me like I was insane. "Do it, now." I demanded.

His hand held onto my shoulder, inching towards the glass. "Now!" I almost yelled, desperate to get this over with. His fingers grasped the glass and pulled it out instantly. I bit my lip to stifle the scream as the glowing pain swamped me. I pushed the bandage over the top of it. "Tie it tight." I told Liebgott and his hands fumbled to follow my command.

"Holy fuck, Tip." Someone mumbled from behind us.

Both Liebgott and I turned to see Tipper limping out from the blown out shop. Half his face was mangled, the eye swollen shut. His opposite leg had a gaping hole in it, making pristine white bone visible. Blood was dribbling out of his mouth and down his face. He reminded me of the first patient we had lost after the drop and alarm bells went off in my head; shock would kill him.

I scrambled to my feet and made my way over to him but Liebgott was already there.

"You're looking good Tip. Real good." He was comforting him in a soft voice. I started to get morphine, sulpha and bandages out of my bag. "Come of you gotta sit down."

Liebgott moved forward, cradling Tipper to his chest as he helped him sit down, holding his head in a half cuddle. Liebgott didn't know it but he was probably going to save Tipper's life by acting so calm and comforting him.

I jammed the morphine into Tipper's leg and started sprinkling sulpha into his leg cavity. "Hang in there buddy, the Duchess in going to get you fixed up." Liebgott continued to soothe while I started to plug the cavity with bandages, just tying one around it wasn't going to do; it went too deep. It took five bandages to fill the gaping wound and I tied a couple on top to keep them in place.

"You're good to go Tip." I told him. Cry's for medics continued to ring out and I cringed at the sound of them, hating to have to leave another patient. "Get him under cover, Lieb."

I turned and left, running towards the cries. It felt like that's all I was doing, running round like a headless chicken, blindly hunting for an injured soldier. But that was all I could do at least until an aide station was set up. Plus, with the platoons being scattered all around the town it meant the injuries were scattered everyone so I had to keep moving.

There was a cry for a medic that was consistent so I moved to that one first. The cries were coming from out in the open were there was a least five bodies. I could see soldiers running through a building that had arches, firing to the open field that the shots were coming from. There was a chaplain who was going to each body, praying over them but not doing anything other than that. I rolled my eyes and ran out into the fray, bullets pinging off rocks all around me.

I crouched over the first body and felt for a pulse and couldn't feel one. I moved onto the next one and did the same and go the same response. As I got closer to the next body, I could see his limbs were moving slightly, twitching a little. I feel to my knees next to him.

"You're gonna be alright. It's all fine." I reassured, my eyes landing on his injury. A bullet had took a chunk out of his neck and the blood was flowing freely. I clamped both my hands over the wound.

His eyes found mine. "Hold on, alright. I can fix you up." I went to get a bandage from my bag but the moment I moved one of my hands, blood would gush out at an alarming rate. I tried to tug the bandage out as quickly as possible because I couldn't just keep my hands there until someone turned up but I couldn't get it. The blood spread out over the ground and soaked into the knees of my trousers. I became frantic, not knowing what to do while bullets continued to land close by.

The soldier grabbed my hand that I had been using to get the bandage and clutched it. He opened his mouth. "It's…ok." He said, so faintly it hurt me. Speaking must have used up the last of his energy because the light went out of his eyes moments later and his hold on my hand slipped.

I removed my hand from his neck and looked at his now lifeless body. It was the first time I hadn't known what to do when treating someone. I always knew what to do, always. It was scary to realise that this couldn't always be the case. I stood to move onto the next body, knowing I couldn't linger on this for ever. I needed to carry on.

Before I could reach the next body, I heard heavy boots behind me and an arm snaked round my waist. I was tugged through one of the arches, away from the bullets that had been skimming past me the whole time, I was extremely lucky not to have been hit. My back was pushed against the wall and the soldier crowded me.

I pushed on their chest, transferring the blood from my hands onto their jacket, feeling hard planes of muscle beneath their uniform. The soldier gripped the back of my neck, squeezing it to get my attention while the other was on my hip pushing me into the wall. His entire body was pressed onto me causing sparks of electricity all over and my breath to hitch. I looked up and found black eyes glaring down at me.

"What happened to not being reckless? To not going on suicide missions?" Speirs ground out, squeezing my hip and neck again.

I stared back into his eyes. "I didn't do either. My job is to save lives, I was doing that." I pushed against him harder than before but he didn't budge. I tried to push his hand from my hip and off my neck but instead he just caught both my hands, linked our fingers together and held them to the wall. I raised my eyebrows at him, shocked at his brazenness.

"You were in the middle of fire. I've said it before, you are not invincible." He looked at me face and the bandage over my arm as if to prove his point.

Gun fire was decreasing which meant we could establish an aide station and get the casualties to safety, I needed to move, I needed to stop things like this happening between Speirs and I as much as it would pain me to do so. "Look, if every time you pop up it's just to moan at me then stop popping up." I bit out, tugging my hands to try and get them free.

"No, I'm not going to stop." He said this softly, his voice a tender caress in the chaos of battle.

I frowned. "Why? I can tell you just like telling people to do so just go find your platoon and leave me alone."

He laughed a humourless laugh. "This isn't about telling someone what to do."

I was even more confused now, my brows puckered together. "Then what is it, Ron? Why do you do stuff like this?"

"Because I care about you!" he said it with so much conviction, there was no doubt in my mind that he meant it. My heat stuttered when he said it, so glad that he did. His eyes searched my face and I knew my eyes would be wide. His hands released mine quickly and he stepped back from me. I missed the contact instantly.

"Be safe." He ordered before turning, gun raised, ready to fight and left me. No matter what was said between us, he always left me.

I shook my head, trying to get my head back to where it needed to be. I started to walk back the way I had come, looking out for a superior officer. I felt all fuzzy and weird, like I was floating my way through the debris covered streets.

"Lieutenant Millard!" was whisper shouted from the side of me.

I turned to see it was Strayer and his entourage, hiding behind a wall despite the fact they were far away from remaining fire.

"Yes, sir?"

"I heard you set up an effective aide station on D-Day, I want you to go set one up now. Do you have a location in mind?" Strayer asked brusquely.

I thought of all the buildings in Carentan and came up with only one possibility. "There's a pub that's on the opposite side of the town to where the firing is." I told him. "Are the supplies trucks moving in, sir?"

Strayer nodded. "Yes, they arrived five minutes ago."

"I need all the medics at the pub then please, sir."

10 minutes later I was in the pub ordering supplies into the correct room, directing casualties to the necessary treatment bay and medics to casualties.

"Walking wounded to the back!" I yelled as injuries started floating in that weren't life threatening.

"Lieutenant?" A tentative voice asked from behind me. I turned to see a timid looking medic from Dog Company, I recognised him as the medic who had dropped his bandages before D-Day. I nodded at him to prompt him to talk. "Where should we move the fatalities to?"

I sighed heavily, disappointed that we must have already lost someone. "Right at the back there's a room on the left that's empty. Put them in their but make sure their dog tags get to the CO of their Company."

He scurried off to do as I had said. I looked around the room where the critical patients were to see there were three not being seen to, all three losing blood rapidly, the bandages covering their wounds soaked through. "You, you." I pointed at two soldiers and motioned them to follow me. I went to one of the untreated soldiers and changed his bandage quickly, pressing my hand down on the wound. I nodded my head to one of the soldiers who had followed me. "You, hold pressure on this until a medic is free."

"Yes, ma'am." His hands took the place of mine.

I did the same for another patient and got the other soldier to hold pressure there. I went to the third and he had five bullet wounds. I could see why he had been left with no medic, it was highly unlikely he would survive but I needed to give him a chance. I quickly set up a plasma drip before rolling him to the side to see if he there were any exit wounds and when I found four, I put sulpha onto them before rolling the soldier onto some bandages that I had strategically placed. I sprinkled the wounds with sulpha and wrapped the bandages tight. One of the bullets was still close to the surface so I began to dig that out to avoid infection setting in. Once the bullet was out I sprinkled more sulpha was and tied the bandage.

Once done I double checked every one else's work, having to change the bandages on one patient and set up a plasma drip on another. I double checked the people I had treated in the field; all three were doing well for the moment. By this point, all the critical patients had been treated so I directed two of the medics to stay and ensure that the previously critical patients stayed somewhat stable and were evacuated as soon as possible. From there, the rest of the medic's went a treated minor injuries but I got stopped by Nix with his hand on my wrist.

I tugged my arm. "Nix, I've got shit to do."

"Go get your arm fixed up and then you can carry on." He ordered, nodding towards the bandage on my arm that I had bled through.

I shook my head. "It's fine. What are you doing in here anyway, are you hurt?" I questioned, scanning his body.

"Not a scratch." He replied sulkily which confused me.

I frowned. "Then why are you in here?" Aide stations aren't places people volunteered to be in. There was blood, death and pain everywhere with very little respite from it all.

"A friend asked me to make sure you got your arm patched up." He told me with a smirk and a waggle of his eyebrows.

There were only two people who Nix would actively call his friends aside from me; Winters and Speirs. Considering that I hadn't seen Winters since the taking of Carentan began and therefore he would have no way of knowing I was hurt, there was only one other option to who could have got Nix to come and make me get sorted out. The fizzy feeling in my stomach that had been stomped out by the duties of the aide station began again and I felt a blush rise.

"If I get my arm fixed will you promise to never mention this again?" I pleaded. The men already thought me and Speirs had a thing going on, I didn't want the officers thinking that too.

"You've got yourself a deal." He smiled brightly at me, a teasing glint still in his eye.

Doc Roe was about to walk past but I stopped him. "Have you got a patient at the moment?" he shook his head. "Well you do now. I need you to patch me up again." I turned and walked into the room which held the minor injuries and took a seat on top of the bar.

"What you do this time?" he asked while unwrapping the bandage to look at the wound.

"Piece of glass in the arm, nothing major." Once he had looked he held the bandage back to my arm and I put my hand over it so that he could get supplies ready.

"Well its major enough to need stitches, _ma cherie_." His voice was as soft as always, even amongst the chaos. He got out a morphine syrette, planning on giving me a small dose to numb the pain enough to stitch me up. It was uncommon to have to do stiches in the field, injuries needing them were usually serious enough or accompanied with injuries serious enough to be evacuated and then the stiches would be done then. And when stitches were put in, they were put in the way you would sew a tear in your trousers; pinch the material together and go at it.

"No morphine." I told him with a shake of my head. He gave me a puzzled look. "I can't get back to work if I'm high on morphine, it'll be fine."

He started to get the needle ready knowing better than to argue with me. He took a lighter and heated it up to kill on bacteria. I held the needle for him while he cleaned out the wound quickly.

"Did you pull the glass out yourself?" Doc asked.

"Nope, I got Liebgott to do it, I'm not badass enough to pull out my own piece of shrapnel." I smiled at him as he braced his hand on my arm, needle and thread in hand.

He gave me a look. "But badass enough to have stitches with no pain killers." He commented, looking non-to happy about the situation.

He pinched the two pieces of skin together and started to push. The burning pain began and I had to hold in a squeal of pain that threatened to escape. My eyes squeezed shut and my mouth formed a grimace. I felt the skin give and the needle went through and the pain decreased for a moment replaced by the strange sensation of thread tugging on my arm.

"Morphine?" Doc offered, sounding hopeful.

I shook my head and heard a heavy sigh before the pain began again. As Doc went on, sweat appeared on my brow and it became harder and harder to hold in my sounds. I thought it was never going to end, with each time the pain receded I hoped he was done but it would just begin again. I could take it though, it was worth it if I could get back to work once over.

"Right, all done." Doc announced, tying a bandage around my arm to cover the stiches.

I wiped my brow and took a shaky breath. "Thanks, Doc." I smiled softly at him before hopping off the bar. I patted him on the shoulder as I surveyed the room, looking for an injury that needed my attention. I found a guy in the back, the bandage covering his calve moist with blood.

I walked over to him, dragging a low stool to it on. "Hello, I'm Lieutenant Millard." I pulled a supply box next to me before lifting the bandage on his calve slightly to look at the damage. I had been expecting a bullet wound but actually it was a break with the bone sticking out. "How's you do this?"

I started to clean the wound, getting ready to set it. "Explosion blew me sideways and I landed funny, ma'am." He was watching his leg apprehensively, obviously not knowing what I planned to do.

"You're lucky then it could have been a lot worse. I need to put the bone back in and set it. I'm not going to lie, it's gonna hurt." I gave him a soft smile, before placing my hands in the necessary places. He gave me a feared look but nodded. "Ok, 1, 2, 3." I pushed the bone back in before manipulating it to realign with the other bones. The man yelled in pain, grabbing the attention of most the room. "It's all done." I assured him as he took panted breathes. From there I poured some sulpha onto the wound, put a bandages on before breaking the stool I was sat on and using one of the legs as a splint for him. I told him he needed to be evacuated to give the wound time to heal.

I moved onto my next patient was was clutching his arm in an odd way, but there was no blood. "What happened here then?" I questioned, examining his arm with soft touches. He had dislocated his shoulder for sure.

"My buddy tried to pull me out the way of an explosion but fell back from the force." The soldier explained, looking a bit sheepish at having a fairly un-war like injury.

"I've just got to pop it back in then and strap you up in a sling." I explained. I bent his arm at the elbow before placing a hand on his shoulder and another on his elbow. "Ready?" The man nodded, not looking scared at all. I twisted and pushed his arm in the direction it needed to go, hearing the satisfying pop of it going into place over his screams of pain. Again all attention came to us. I examined his shoulder again before putting the arm in a sling with strict instructions not to remove it.

I decided to circle the room but was distracted by Winters being treated by Doc. He was wincing as Doc seemed to be pulling a fragment of a bullet from his shin.

"You ok, sir?" I asked, eyeing the wound. It was pretty minor but would cause a limp.

Winters nodded. "Just a ricochet according to Doc." He told me.

"You gonna be able to stay off that leg?" The leg needed rest if he wanted it to heal quickly.

Winters looked pointedly around the room, at the chaos caused by battle. "Doesn't look like it."

A head of blonde hair caught by eye and I looked across the room to see Blithe huddle in a corner, staring vacantly at one spot. I nudge Doc as he cleaned Winters bullet hole. "What's wrong with Blithe?"

"Nothing, except he can't see." Doc informed me with a sceptical look.

I frowned. "He can't see." If he had been blinded for some reason there would be some evidence of injury but he looked fine physically but his unseeing eyes held a haunted look.

Doc shrugged. "So he says." His tone suggested he didn't believe him. Buck had come in to speak to Winters and I gave him a smile of hello before walking towards Blithe.

"Hello Blithe. It's Lieutenant Millard." I spoke softly to him not wanting to make him jump. He still started slightly but his eyes didn't move to me.

"H…hello ma'am." He stuttered, his voice broken. I waved a hand in front of his face but there was no reaction from his eyes. He really couldn't see.

"What's wrong private?"

He shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. I took his hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. He looked more afraid than the men who had been shot. "Things… things just went black on me…I…I can't see a thing."

I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles. "It's going to be fine, Blithe. You're going to fine." I assured him, hoping my tone comforted him.

A tear escaped his eye and he wiped it hastily. "I didn't want to let anyone down." I got what he meant. If he couldn't see, he was no use to the war effort.

"You haven't, this isn't your fault, Blithe. Sometimes things just happen." I gave his hand another squeeze. "We'll get you out of here, get you back to England."

He shut his eyes and leant his head back onto the wall behind him. A deep breath rolled through his chest, it coming nosily out through his mouth. He tilted his head back up and opened his eyes, a look of shock residing in them as he looked round the room. There was an awareness back in them that wasn't there before.

"I can see." He told me, his voice sounder slightly stronger than before. Shock rolled through me as he was apparently cured of his blindness. "I… I think I'm… gonna be ok."

We stood together as he seemed to get his bearings. He was looking at me seemingly for some sort of explanation as to what had happened but the only one I had wouldn't do him much good. He didn't need to know he had most likely lost his eyesight to fear.

I nodded my head. "Right, well you stay here for a bit and then you go re-join your platoon later."

"Yes, ma'am." I pointed him in the direction of the room where we were keeping some for observations and he went off in that direction.

I turned back to Doc, Winters and Buck, them all watching me with awe. "How did you make him see again?" Buck asked sounding as shocked as I felt.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I think he just needed someone to talk to, someone to calm him down. I saw it back in London; hysterical blindness they would call it. Once the men were certain they weren't fighting their vision would come back."

They all gave me a strange look before their discussion went back to the plans now that we had taken Carentan while I went back to treating patients but my mind was on Blithe. War did things to people, things that many would never come to understand. 


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! **

_D-Day plus 6, Carentan, France_

I'd been kicked out of the aide station again, told I'd done more than enough to earn myself some food and rest. I was sat outside in the sun with Muck, Malarkey, More, Penkala and Blithe eating my way through a K-Ration box while I leant up against Malarkey, his arm threw over my shoulder.

"These rations are making me miss the horse meat at Toccoa." I told the group, grimacing at the taste. They all chuckled before returning to their conversation.

"Berlin by Christmas. That's how I see it." More stated.

I couldn't help but scoff, it wasn't going to be that easy, I could feel it. "Yeah, you're full of it." Malarkey bit out, obviously not happy with More taunting him with a scenario that would never happen.

A gasp of disgust had me looking up from my food to Muck. "Oh God, this Kraut cheese tastes like…" he seemed to struggle to find the right word to describe how disgusting it was around his mouthful of cheese.

"Shit?" I offered, a seemingly appropriate word for all the food we ever ate.

"It stinks." He laughed which made me chuckle.

"Breads stale too." Penkala complained, holding a piece of bread that resembled cardboard over his shoulder.

"Gimme that." Muck snatched the bread out of Penkala's hand.

I sighed. "At least the German's are eating stuff as shitty as we are." There were agreements around the group. A load had been lifted off my shoulders by re-joining the men. Being in the aide station took its toll, a toll that is easy to ignore when you were working but devastatingly obvious once you left. Being around my friends bought a light back.

"Yes sir… the way we came in town and took over? You know it don't seem Jerry's got too much fight left in 'em." More continued. I shook my head at the notion that today had been an easy fight. More hadn't had to see the casualties, hadn't seen the numerous dead bodies in the back room of the pub.

"Hey, More, don't get hit in the face when Jerry throws in the sponge alright?" Malarkey joked, pulling me from my dark thoughts and making me grin.

More pointed at Malarkey. "You mark my words Mal…"

"Berlin by Christmas." I finished with him to make fun of his asinine comments. I liked More but comments like this weren't beneficial to anyone, especially when they were never going to happen.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." A hard voice came from behind us. We all twisted to see it was Speirs stood over us, his eyes glaring at Malarkey's arm that was still over my shoulder. Malarkey retracted his arm which pissed me off, it annoyed me how much Speirs scared everyone but I couldn't deny that fizzy feeling in my stomach that was back. He looked around the group, seemingly happy now that Malarkey's arm was gone. "We'll be moving out soon."

We all looked at one another, unhappy at the news. Moving out meant no decent night's sleep. "Out of town Lieutenant? Already?" More questioned, making the rest of the men tense up. It was common practice to say as few words as possible to Speirs and get away from his as soon as; I knew his presence was intimidating but there must be some reason unknown to me for this behaviour.

Speirs held eye contact with More. "That's right." He said simply but that was enough to make More flinch slightly which made me smirk. Speirs made to walk off down the steps we were sat on so Penkala moved out of the way. He got a few steps away from us when More decided to open his mouth again.

"Don't they know were just getting settled here?" He said from around a cigarette, in a way that was supposed to be taken as a joke but no one laughed when Speirs turned round and glared at him. He held the glare for a few seconds before leaving.

"Nice groucho…" Malarkey scolded More.

"Real smart. You know you're taking your life in your own hands." Muck looked to Malarkey. "Ain't that right?"

"I told you, I didn't actually see it." Malarkey was quick to answer, as if he was trying to defend himself.

I was confused. I asked "what" but Penkala spoke at the same time, answering my question indirectly. "What, Speirs shooting the prisoners or the sergeant in his platoon?"

"Sergeant?" More asked, apparently not having hear that story. I had heard neither and my ears were open wide to learn why the men feared Speirs so much. Part of me thought this would be the usual gossip. It was always someone heard from someone who was there but when you asked that person, they had heard it from someone else. Another part of me could see Speirs committing both acts but only with significant reasons.

"What? I didn't hear that!" Muck exclaimed instantly more interested.

"Wait! Wait! Shot one of his own guys." Malarkey sounded shocked. No one in Easy would be able to kill another member of the company for whatever reason.

Penkala looked pleased with himself that he'd managed to come up with a story none of us had heard. "Well, supposedly the guy was drunk and refused to go on patrol. Who knows if it's true…" he let his sentence dwindle off as if to show he believed the story.

"Well I know a guy…" Muck started, aiming a piece of bread at Malarkey but it hit me instead, causing me to throw my empty ration box of his head. "…who said an eyewitness told him that Speirs hosed those prisoners."

"Why? What for?" Blithe asked from behind, speaking for the first time since I'd sat down.

"On D-Day, Speirs comes across this group of Kraut prisoners, digging a hole or some such, under guard and all." I remembered the prisoners he was on about, they were the ones Malarkey had stopped to talk to and I had carried on walking. "He breaks out a pack of smokes and passes them out. He even gives them a light. Then, all of a sudden, he swings up his Thompson and…" He pretended to hold up a Thompson and made gun noises, revelling in the theatrics. "…He hoses them. I mean goddam! He gives them smokes first?" Muck took a drag from his cigarette, probably for dramatic effect. "You see that's why I don't believe he really did it."

"Oh you don't believe it?" Malarkey questioned.

"Not everyone cares about their smokes as much as you Muck." I joked, earning a small laugh from him.

"I heard he didn't do it." Penkala added with a shake of his head.

"No, no, no it was him alright. But it was more than eight guys. It was more like twenty." I shook my head, wondering who the hell they got these details from. Muck mumbled "hell of a shot" before More continued. "All accept one guy, who he left on his own."

"Well, all I know, from what I heard, he took the last 105 on D-Day practically by himself. Running through MG fire like a maniac." Penkala concluded like this was the only detail that mattered.

Malarkey nodded along to the story. "Yeah, that I did see."

"On his own?" More asked form his reclined position, opening one eye to look at Malarkey.

"I don't care if any of the other stuff's true." Penkala told us.

Muck looked over to Blithe. "Hey, Albert. What do you think?"

Blithe shrugged. "I don't know… gonna have to take everybody's word for it. I didn't see any of it." Blithe had seemed a bit more settled since I released him from the aide station for whatever reason that may be. I just hope he remained this way when we moved out.

Malarkey nudged me. "What about you, Duch. You're awfully quiet for once."

"I don't know if the stories are true but he's ruthless enough to do it. That's what makes him a good soldier and leader." When the guys were telling the stories, I could see Speirs killing the soldiers and the sergeant, he would do it if he had to. "I imagine on D-Day he was told to kill the prisoners because he was ordered to. No-one took any prisoners with them, we didn't have the resources to."

"Let's go! 1st platoon! Weapons on me! We're moving out!" Harry yelled, his voice getting closer with each order. I got up, putting on my helmet on and then slinging my newly re-stocked medic bag over my shoulder, followed by my gun. "That means you private Blithe." Harry added in a sharp tone.

About an hour later I was walking in-between Frank and Luz. Where we were made me think of England; knee high grass and it was raining while we trudged along to an unknown destination.

"Duch, how far we goin?" Frank asked, earning himself an eye roll.

"Ask Luz." I told him simply, not being bothered to answer the pointless question.

"Hey, Luz!" Frank could be a bit thick at times, obviously taking my brush off to be serious. "How far we goin?"

I smirked when Luz rolled his eyes. "Oh, Jesus Christ Frank, I don't know. Until they tell us to stop."

"High ground." Hoob said from the other side of Frank, attempting to sound wise. "There's high ground up ahead."

"Ok genius." Frank started in a biting tone which made me and Luz chuckle, even when his question was answered, Frank wasn't happy. "Answer me this then; why is Easy Company the only company who's either at the front of an advance, or, like now, exposed at the far edge of the line."

"Because Easy is the best company." I answered, knowing it was the truth.

Luz raised an eyebrow. "Are we now?"

"You best fucking be otherwise I'm I the wrong company." Luz laughed while I smirked.

"To keep you on your toes." Hoob gave another reason to Frank's question.

I shook my head. "We don't need to be kept on our toes. We are in occupied territory, I for one am always on my toes."

"Agreed." I heard Luz mutter next to me.

"No that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying we're never in the middle and we're the fifth of nine companies in this regiment. Able through Item. Think of it." Frank continued to complain but he had a point.

Hoob pointed up ahead. "See there. You see that…" he began but was cut off my rapid gun fire.

We all fell to the ground as the bullets flew over our heads. "Contact right! Get in the hedgerow!" Harry yelled his orders. I got to my feet but crouched down and ran like hell to the hedgerow. All the smart people did the same while some stood tall and inevitably got hit.

I threw myself into the bushes, Luz right next to me and started firing back. Harry came rushing over to Luz and started shouting information into the radio but I couldn't make out what he was saying over the gun fire. I looked over my shoulder and see multiple casualties at our previous position. I put my gun down and started to make my way over to them but I get dragged back.

"Are you insane? Stay where you are!" Harry orders before turning his attention back to the radio.

I pick up my gun again and resumed fire. I slowed down my fire and began to try and make out figures to shoot at rather than wasting my ammo on random shots. I sought out the machine gun operators and took them two out quickly before going back to regular soldiers. One after another they dropped when I squeezed my trigger, each shot either injuring or killing a soldier.

As quick as it started the gun fire stopped and it all went silent. We all stayed still, waiting to see if it starts again but it doesn't. Harry let out a breath and got out his canteen, taking a healthy swig. "We have to dig in here, we attack tomorrow morning. Duch, go left and see if anyone's injured and pass on the order. Doc's ahead of us so he can take the right side for injuries."

"I need to go check on the men left behind, Harry."

"No, they are dead otherwise they would have got under cover. I'm not restarting fire and risking you for some dead bodies, understood?" Harry looked so serious, I nodded my agreement. I wasn't happy but he was probably right and I didn't want to restart fire, endangering the men when they were unprepared.

I looked to Luz who was smirking. "Foxhole buddies?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes theatrically. "If we must." I smiled brightly at the thought, Luz was good company and I was going to need it to get through the night. "I'll be back as soon as."

I took off, crouching low as I waked the line. Every man I passed, I told to dig in with a 'yes ma'am' in reply. I got to two men I wasn't sure the names of and saw one of them was bleeding.

"Orders are in boys. Dig in for the night." I told them.

"Yes ma'am." The replied in unison, getting their shovels from their packs.

"I need to fix your leg up first, private." I sat next to the bleeding man and pulling his trouser leg up. The bullet was still lodged in his knee but it was also caked with dirt.

"Its fine, Lieutenant." he attempted to move his leg but winced as he did so.

I shook my head. "If you let me fix it up now, you won't have to be evacuated. If you leave it the way it is you will get an infection and will have to be evacuated. Your choice, private."

"Fix it please." He told me sulkily.

I smiled at him before getting out some gauze and my canteen to clean out the wound. Once it was clean I got out a bandage and my tweezers to start digging the bullet out. "This is going to hurt." I warned him before I began working on the bullet. Luckily it wasn't in too deep and it only took a minute before it popped out, a rush of blood following it. He had done well keeping his cries of pain to himself. I put some sulpha in the wound along with some gauze before tying a bandage around it.

"You're all set. Just keep it as clean as you can."

I had reached the end of the line with this being the only injury to bandage up. I spotted Bill and Toye digging in together and stopped to talk to them, not having had the chance to in a while.

"Hey fellas." I greeted, sitting on the rim of their nearly finished fox hole.

"Oh, it's the Duchess, we thought you'd ditched us for good." Toye commented, obviously not liking that I hadn't seen them as much as usual.

I scoffed. "Don't blame me that you haven't see me. Blame Hitler and this war."

Bill chuckled. "I think that was Joe trying to say he missed you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, why couldn't he have just said that, maybe I would have said it back."

Toye looked over at me with his tiny smirk. I loved Toye's smirk because you had to be close friends with him to see it, it was in his eyes rather than on his mouth. "Fine, I missed you Duch." He looked at me expectantly.

"I hadn't even noticed you were gone." I teased, earning myself a smack on the thigh from his shovel. "Of course I missed you, and I missed Bill. I've barely seen Liebgott either."

"Dig in with us then and we can have a catch-up." Bill told me.

"Sorry, I'm already in with Luz."

"Lucky fucker." Bill mumbled making me smile.

"I should probably go help him actually." Despite saying this, I made no move to leave.

"I heard you were quite the badass at Carentan." Toye gave me a look that told me he was a mixture of proud and annoyed that I had been in amongst the fight.

I shrugged. "Didn't really do much." It was true, I had done my job and even then I could have done better. I should have noticed the sniper as I ran in, I should have got both the machine gun operators, I should have saved that soldier that died holding my hand.

"Don't be modest. You killed that sniper and saved me, Frank and Lip." Bill told me with a smile.

I felt uncomfortable talking about the people I had killed. "I need to get back to Luz." I stood up to leave, brushing the dirt from my trousers. "Be safe you two or you know what will happen."

"You be safe too Duch." Bill gave me a hard look while Toye nodded in agreement. I gave them both a smile before walking off back to Luz.

I found him sat on the edge of a very partially dug foxhole smoking a Lucky Stripe. "You couldn't have possibly got more done in the time I've been gone, could you?" I smiled at him and he gave me a cheeky smirk in response.

"I needed a break." He defended. "And you couldn't have got back any quicker, could you?"

"I needed a break." I repeated back to him, enjoying the easy banter. "Come on, let's get this shit done."

It became dark fast. The Germans over the way were singing loudly while Luz and I sat in out foxhole, shoulders touching. "Would you rather spend a whole day with Sobel or a whole week with Cobb?" I asked Luz. We had been playing would you rather for a while, trying to pass the time seeing as neither of us could sleep.

Luz frowned. "What would I be doing with Sobel?"

I thought for a moment. No question was too ridiculous in a game of would you rather. "You're at a bar."

"And would I literally have to do everything with Cobb in that week, like he's following me around?" He really was taking this scenario seriously.

"Yes."

"Ok I would have to say a day with Sobel." He answered immediately.

"Reasons." I questioned.

"Well, as bad as Sobel is, I could get roaring drunk and it wouldn't matter." He explained easily.

I smiled. "I would pick that too."

Someone slipped into our foxhole unexpectedly, making me grasp at Luz as they made me jump. My eyes focused to realise it was Grant who was grinning at me basically on top of Luz.

"What the fuck, Grant? What happened to 'flash' 'thunder' or just making it clear you were coming in?" I exclaimed.

Luz wrapped his arms around me. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." He was close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck.

I slapped his hands. "Get off me." I couldn't help but laugh along with the other two.

"What are you two up to then?" Grant asked.

"You know, making out and stuff." Luz wiggled his eyebrows.

I burst out laughing. "We were playing would you rather."

Grant raised an eyebrow. "Give me one then." He demanded.

Luz and I looked at one another. "Would you rather fight Toye for his last smoke…?" I looked to Luz to finish this one.

He seemed to get some inspiration and got excited. "Or cuddle up with Speirs?"

I burst out laughing at the look on Grant's face. "Both of them are equally terrifying." He stated but there was a twinkle of amusement in his eye.

"It's true. I think Toye would bite your ear off if you went for his last smoke." Luz tried to light one of his own smokes but his lighter was playing up. I took it off him and jiggled the flint a bit before handing it back to him. It lit on his first attempt and I just sent him a smirk.

"Come on then, what would you pick." I urged Grant, nudging him with my boot.

He rubbed his temple as if this was a greatly important question. "I'm gonna have to go with the fight with Toye. There is no way I'm risking my life cuddling up to Speirs."

"He's not that bad." I regretted it as soon as it had come out of mouth especially when they both looked at me with teasing eyes.

"And how would you know?" Grant asked, his voice taking a teasing tone.

I shrugged. "So we may have spoken a couple of times." I kept my voice reserved, not wanting to let anything else slip.

Luz smirked. "What about?"

"My dog, nursing, the war in general etcetera, etcetera." I tailed off not knowing what else to say.

Luz and Grant laughed. "Sounds mighty interesting." Luz commented.

"More fun than sitting with you two." I countered making Grant cutch his heart as if I had wounded him.

"Medic!" This call was shouted in a deep voice, not too far from my foxhole.

"That sounded like Tab." Luz commented, his voice sounded worried.

He went to get up but I pushed him back before climbing out the foxhole with my bag. "Stay put and watch the line." I ordered, running off into the darkness.

It took me less than 30 seconds to find Tab, propped up against a tree with Liebgott demanding "can you breathe?"

I dropped to my knees next to Tab, ripping his shirt at the areas with blood seeping out without even saying hello. I wanted to have time to panic, to be worried about my injured best friend but I needed to do my job. I noticed his Kraut poncho was pushed up around his neck. There were two bayonet wounds, both looking like they would miss anything major. I got the gist of what had happened thanks to Smith's ramblings; he's stabbed Tab thinking that he was a Kraut. I pushed a bandage over each wound getting Liebgott to hold pressure on one of them.

"Jesus Christ Tab. Why would you walk the line dressed like a fucking kraut?" I demanded, rummaging one handed in my bag for some morphine and sulpha.

He groaned in pain. "I think I've learnt my lesson, Duch." He moaned in pain again. I took the top off the morphine with my teeth and injected it into him, watching the pain lines disappear from his face and a loopy smile replace them.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Smith asked nervously from behind me.

I tore the top off one of the sulpha packets, lifting the bandage once I'd done so. It wasn't too deep of a wound, couldn't have hit anything major where it was positioned but Tab would need to be evacuated, the wounds needed time to heal and he would have to be watched for infection. "He'll be fine, Smith." I assure, sprinkling some sulpha into the wound before pressing the bandage onto it again. "You need to go get on patrol though." I ordered Smith who scrambled to follow my orders not wanting to put another toe out of line.

"You know, I really love you guys." Tab told us in a simple voice, definitely high from the drugs.

"We love you too Tab." Liebgott replied with a little smirk on his face before he looked to me. "Doesn't that dose usually knock people out?"

"Everyone's different." I swapped places with Liebgott so I could get working on the second wound.

"I want to hear the Duchess say it." Tab ordered, not looking at me but at Liebgott.

I was concentrating on the injury so Liebgott answered. "Want to hear her say what?"

Tab pouted adorably. "That she loves me."

"Help me pull him forward." I asked Liebgott, having already put the sulpha on the wound. We pulled him forward slightly so that I could get the bandage ties around his back before settling him back down and tying them tight. I patted him on the shoulder, smiling down at him. "You know I love you."

Tab beamed back at me, looking really pleased with himself. "She loves me." He boasted to Liebgott.

I shook my head, trying to hold back the laughter. "Do you know where Harry's foxhole is?" I asked Liebgott. He shook his head no. "Alright well I do so I'm gonna go find him to get him to call a jeep. If he starts bleeding through the bandages, which he won't, just put pressure on them again."

Liebgott nodded, looking confident as always which reassured me. I ran to the right, and then towards the line knowing Harry was closest to it. Tab was luckily right next to the hedgerow which meant when the jeep turned up it would be easy to move him. I jumped into Harry's foxhole which he was sharing with Doc Roe, and made them both jump. "Harry, I need a jeep to evacuate Tab, he's by Smith's foxhole." I told him.

"Luz is in your foxhole, right?" He asked, not faffing at all and when I nodded he took off towards my foxhole.

Doc was watching me concerned. "You ok handling Tab? I know he's one of your closest friends."

I nodded. "Course I'm ok, plus it helps to know he's going to be fine. See you when I do." I jumped out the foxhole and ran back to Tab.

"He scares me." I heard Tab attempt to whisper.

I crouched next to him, taking one of his hands in mine. "Who does?" I whispered back.

"Speirs came to check what the noise was about." Liebgott clarified.

I nodded, feeling disappointed that I'd missed him. The rumblings of a jeep came from behind us, no light to show it was here because of the light discipline. Two medics came rushing through the hedgerow carrying a stretcher with them. As they loaded him on, I gave them a report of his injuries.

I was still holding Tab's hand and he pulled me close to the stretcher, looking at me with glassy eyes. "Can I have a kiss seeing as I'm hurt?" He asked me like a little kid.

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, you guys need some female attention if you're trying to bribe me to kiss you." I stooped to kiss him on the cheek but he turned his head at the last second so that my lips landed on his. I pulled away instantly so that it was nothing more than a peck but Tab gave me a cheeky smile regardless. "You are so gonna regret that when you are all healed up."

"It will be worth it. Be safe." He called as they started to walk him through the hedgerow. Watching him leave sent a spear of relief and worry through me. Relief that he was no longer in danger on the line but worry because I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him.

I felt a shoulder brush against me and turned to see Liebgott smirking down at me. "You know I have a splinter, do I get a kiss?" He teased.

I shoved him away from me. "Go fuck yourself." He laughed at my reaction. "I gotta go tell Luz that Tab is fine, he was worried when I left him." I turned to walk back to my foxhole with Liebgott calling good night to me.

I took my time walking back, needing time to worry about Tab. The moment I got back to Luz I would have to put on a brave face so that he didn't worry. Tab would be going to a field hospital and they did things to people. Being around men who have been badly injured, hearing groans of pains constantly and seeing what could happen to you if you return to combat changes even the strongest of people. That's why so many people went AWOL, wanting to get away from it all. I just hoped Tab came back the same.

I got distracted from my sombre thoughts by a deep voice that didn't have a place deep in Easy Company. "Do you know why you hid in that ditch, Blithe?" Speirs asked, his voice stern with no emotion in it. I hid in the dark wanting to hear what he said to Blithe.

"I was scared." Blithe whispered so quietly I could barely hear him. He said it as though he was ashamed, as if he thought the rest of us weren't scared. We all were scared it was how you reacted to the fear that mattered.

"We're all scared." Speirs stated before he crouched down to continue to speak to Blithe. "You hid in that ditch because you think there's still hope. But, Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept that you're already dead." My heart stuttered at his words, his harsh words that he had no right to say to a terrified soldier. "And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will be able to function as a soldiers supposed to function. Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends on it." his voice was completely passive which was as hard to swallow as his words.

I looked to Blithe and a tear caught the moonlight. I wanted to go and reassure him but part of me knew that what Speirs had said was right. This didn't make me any less angry though, the man needed a dressing down. He walked off back towards Dog Company, strutting away as if he hadn't just nearly broke a man. Rather than waking straight after him, I looped round so that I wouldn't have to pass Martin and Blithe. It wasn't long before I had caught back up to him in an area free of any foxholes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I half yelled at his back, I couldn't think of anything better to say.

He stopped and turned, his face an annoyingly unreadable mask. "Excuse me?"

I quick walked over to him and shoved him in the chest with both hands but he barely moved. "Do you like terrifying people? Is that why you did it?" I spat, trying to ignore the fact I was so close I could feel the heat radiating off him.

"You heard what I said to Blithe." He stated, no remorse showing on his face.

"Yeah I heard. Why would you do that? He's terrified."

Speirs took a step forward and I took one back, trying to distance myself so I could stay with the anger. "I was trying to make him a better soldier."

"Yeah with no compassion, mercy or regret. Sounds like a wonderful human being." The sarcasm tasted bitter as it came out. My hands were motioning crazily and I couldn't control them, I was just glad I wasn't tearing up like I often did when angry.

"Soldiers kill people, Katie. You can't do that with compassion, you can't do it with mercy and you can't do it with regret." His own voice was rising in volume to match mine, his nostrils flaring illustrating that I was getting to him.

"Yes you can! I do it. I think it's more than obvious how much I care for my Company. I go for the quick kills, right for the head or heart; that's mercy. And I regret every life that has to be lost." I had took my helmet off and was jabbing him in the chest with it. I had lost the elastic that had been holding my hair up days ago and had snapped my reserve so my hair tumbled from the pile it had been in, the curls tickling my neck.

He knocked my helmet out of my hand, a metallic thud coming when it hit the ground. "Apologies that everyone can't be a saint like you." He sighed angrily after he had bit out his sarcastic comment. "Go back to your foxhole, lieutenant."

"No. You don't get to brush me off."

He stepped towards me again, probably in an attempt to intimidate me. "Go back to your foxhole, that's an order." His voice had a husky edge to it that I didn't get, he should have been spitting mad that I was disobeying him. His eyes were heated and stared into mine.

"Don't order me…" I didn't get to finish the sentence, his hands clamped on either side of my neck and those kissable lips that had been taunting me since I met him landed on mine. His lips moved against mine, demanding a response which I couldn't help but give. One of his hands tangled in my hair, tugging on it slightly, using it to tilt my head into the position he wanted while the other found its place on my waist. He backed me up until my I hit a tree and he crowded me, no part of our bodies not touching. The smell of him surrounded me; gun oil, cigarettes and pure man.

My whole body was alight with need and want. One of my hands fisted his jacket at his side while the other knocked off his helmet, grasping the hair at the base of his skull. His lips continued to move against mine, his tongues tracing the seam of my lips to coax them open. Once I did he surged forward on his quest, rubbing his tongue against mine. I moaned at the sensation which caused him to drop his hand to my arse, squeezing it and using it to haul me closer, making me very aware of the hard pole poking me in the stomach. I gasped at the surge of lust that drove through me.

I had only been kissed a few times before and a majority of them had been with a soldier who I had lost my virginity to back in London. I was more turned on by this one kiss with Ron than I had been in the entire sordid affair with the other soldier. He didn't just kiss, he inhaled me. My entire focus was on his lips and his hands, I forgot we were on the front line of a war, I forgot about Tab, I forgot everything but him.

Ron broke off the kiss, catching my bottom lip between his teeth and tugging on it. He pressed kisses along my jaw line, pulling my hair so that I tilted my head to the side. He nibbled his way down my neck, his stubble scratching deliciously across my skin making my breath hitch. His lip made their way up to my ear, his teeth tugging on my earlobe. "No one ever disobeys me. Except you." His statement was made is a sexy, husky whisper. While he spoke he hoisted my leg up around his waist in an almost desperate move to get closer, landing his erection in the apex of my thighs. The new pressure made me moan and arch my back slightly but he leaned into me, keeping my back flat against the tree.

I was breathing heavily, my mind turned to mush but I managed to scrape up some sass to reply to him. "And that's what turns you on?" I questioned cheekily, rolling my hips slightly against him. It was his turn to moan this time, a deep, throaty moan that made me feel more powerful than I ever had before. I made him like this, this gorgeous man was turned on by me.

We were hurtled back into the present by an uproar of cheers coming from the German side of the line. Our eyes immediately crashed together, widened with realisation at what we'd been doing. As much as I wanted it, we were in the middle of a war and this was no place to start whatever we were. I would be kicked out of the army if we were caught by someone in a position of power over the two of us and I couldn't let that happen.

His hold on my leg weakened so I let it slide back to the ground. "We shouldn't be doing this." I murmured, unclenching my hand from his side and taking the other from his hair.

He shook his head, looking regretful. "No we shouldn't." Our noses brushed together as he leant in to kiss my gently, our lips slowly parting as if he was trying to savour it. He stepped back, putting some necessary space between us. I stepped around him, walking to get my helmet while breathing deeply, trying to get back some of my control that I had been using not to kiss him every time he was near. I turned back around to find he was watching me with the hard eyes I had come to expect from him. I gave him a weak smile before going to walk past him, back to my foxhole and back to the war I had forgotten in the last five minutes.

"Remember what I said." The husky edge was still there but I could hear he was attempting to cover it with a stern tone.

I didn't have to think for very long to know what he meant. I smirked softly. "Nothing reckless, nothing suicidal."

He nodded, turning to leave, blending into the darkness as he walked away. I sighed heavily, feeling frustrated and miserable. I was still hot all over and I could feel that my hair had gotten bigger due to his hands running through it. I began my journey back to my foxhole, feeling bad that I had left Luz in the dark for so long but couldn't quite bring myself to regret it either.

"Hey soldier." I murmured as I slid in next to Luz. I was quickly hauled into a hug that I hadn't expected but returned all the same.

"I thought something had happened to you." Luz told me when he released me from his hug.

I smiled softly. "I'm fine, I just got caught up with…something." I couldn't think of an effective lie. "Tab's gonna be fine. He was walking around dressed like a Kraut in his poncho and Smith stabbed him."

"What an idiot." The look of worry faded from Luz's face and the twinkle of humour returned as he scanned my face. "Why are your lips like that? And why is your hair so big?" his crooked grin appeared. Why the hell was he so observant?

I scoffed. "I'm on the front line of war and you are criticising my hair?"

Luz's smirk only widened. "Seems to me your avoiding the question, Duch."

I avoided his eyes and decided to change the conversation. "Do you want to get some shut eye? I can watch the line."

Luz shook his head, as if he couldn't believe I was avoiding his questions. "Yeah, I'll see if can. Permission to use you as a pillow, Lieutenant Duchess?"

I laughed, feeling some light flow into me again. "Permission granted." Luz moved to sit next to me and lay his head on my shoulder. I took my helmet off and lay my head on top of his. I brought my hand up to touch my lips and felt that they were puffier than usual and more than likely bright red. I smirked; it had been one hell of a kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! **

_D-Day plus 7, Outskirts of Carentan, France_

I was sat in Doc's foxhole eating my K-ration breakfast of eggs along with Luz, Petty and Doc. I had been called over by Harry for a meeting and we were just waiting for everyone else to get wind of the orders and show up. One by one, Frank, Hoob, Martin, Grant and Bill turned up, looking tired as hell.

"Duch, get your ass over here." Harry ordered in a cranky voice. According to it his canteen of whiskey was running low and he was having to ration it to last him making him quite unhappy. I was almost as cranky as he was, having had next to no sleep with images of Ron replaying in my head all night.

I made my way out of the foxhole over to him, crouching next to him. "Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine this morning." I muttered, making those who had heard chuckle. Harry shoved me in the helmet in retaliation but he was smirking.

From behind there was a thud before a soldier said "The outpost got ammo. Here you go guys."

"Well that solves one problem." Harry muttered, before getting out his map and surveying it. Hoob crouched on the other side of Harry with Martin next to me.

"Any idea what we're up against?" Martin asked.

"We don't know what they've got. We may be attacking a weaker force. Possibly more paratroopers." Harry informed us.

"And we know how they can be." Hoob commented dryly, making everyone titter softly.

"Fire and manoeuvre. That's the name of game; fire and manoeuvre." Everyone nodded at this order. "Dog and Fox companies will be on our left flank, moving with us." At least we weren't going to be alone, I thought. "Duch, it's the same as Carentan; go when there's a medic call, shoot when you can. Any questions?" When no one spoke Harry announced "Let's make them holler."

Frank rolled up his sleeve and he had to have more than ten watches on his arm. I nudged Martin with my elbow, motioning towards Frank. "And to think he can't even tell time." I joked making Martin laugh, it was quite a feat to make Johnny Martin laugh.

"Its 9:30 in the evening back home. Must be…" Frank started to say but a whistling noise sounded overhead and a soldier screamed "mortar!"

Everyone dropped for cover before beginning to make their way to their positions but I got dragged back into Doc's foxhole, landing on top of someone's body. The round exploded not too far from the foxhole followed by more mortar rounds being let off. I scrambled myself off the body to find it was Luz.

"Get that OP in!" Harry yelled, before lunging for the radio Luz had bought with him. A man dropped at the side of the foxhole, a direct hit to the chest from a bullet. He had made a nice target stood basically out in the open. Before I could get at him, Doc was already there. I turned in the foxhole so I was facing the line and started to scope out for targets. Our own mortars started to come in retaliation, some of them being directed by Malarkey. Soon after our machine gun fire started and it was open fire from both sides then.

My M1 Garand felt natural in my arms as I lined up a shot to one of the mortar operators. The butt plate fit into the pocket of my shoulder like it was meant to be there and I clicked off the safety with a satisfying snick. Mortar operators were hard to spot but I got a good eye on them, they were likely going to cause the most havoc so I wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible. I squeezed the trigger but my aim was a little wide, hitting the tree next to the soldier's head which caused him to duck manically. I re-aimed and hit my target, watching the soldier slump forward. I moved my aim to another, and then another and then another. Five people went down from my bullets before there was a medic cry.

The medic call rang from my left. I swung my gun over my shoulder, a twinge of pain coming from the pull on my stitches and took off, patting Luz on the shoulder as I went. I crouched down as much as possible but I could hear bullets flying past me. My adrenaline picked up and I was thankful for it, the feeling of being invincible was back which stopped me from diving for cover whenever a bullet came a bit too close or a mortar round went off. I finally got to the soldier who was bleeding profusely from his shoulder. I dropped in next to him, annoyance flaring in me slightly at the fact he wasn't putting any pressure on the wound. I slapped a bandage over the front of his shoulder before pushing him forward so I could look at his back, blood was coming from there too so it was a through and through.

"Put pressure over the bandage on the front." I ordered over the gunfire and I felt his hands cover mine. With one hand now free I rummaged in my bag, feeling for a sulpha packet and a syrette. I tore the top off the sulpha with my teeth and tipped it into the wound. I took the top off the morphine with my teeth as well and plunged it into his neck, feeling the muscles in his shoulder relax as the pain drifted away. I pulled some gauze from my bag and stuffed it into the wound before putting the bandage back over the top and pushing him back again, tying the bandage tight. I did the same for the front wound before pushing him into the foxhole for significant cover. I got into his position next to his foxhole buddy who had continued to fire the whole time without even sending a glance towards me.

I started to fire again, aiming shots at the head and heart before squeezing the trigger. I had to reload soon after I began but movement behind the opposite hedgerow caught my eye. I stopped what I was doing to focus on it, trying to figure out what I was seeing. It was a Tiger Tank no doubt lining up to come right at us. There was an operator stood on top of it, the gap in the hedgerow and the slow movement of the truck making him a good target. I lined it up, aiming for the head and squeezed the trigger, watching him fall like a sack of potatoes onto the tank. I changed my aim back to the soldiers on the ground, nothing more could be done to the tank by me, it needed a bazooka hit.

Killing the opposition in the middle of battle was easy to ignore. They were nothing more than targets or enemies that later on, when the firing had stopped and you were sat with your ears ringing almost painfully, became people with families at home worrying for them as yours were for you. The guilt could eat you alive, eat you from the inside until you become insane with it. It became hard to remember this was a necessary evil, all done in the name of protecting our countries.

"Medic!" the cry rang out and I was on the move again. It didn't take me long to find the person who had shouted. He was calling for the man next to him who was slumped on the ground. I pressed two fingers to his neck but felt no pulse. I looked to the soldier who had been shouting for the medic and shook my head at him. He yelled in anger, turning his gun back on the opposition who has killed his friend and started to give them hell.

From the position I was in I could get a clear shot at some of the smaller tanks operators so began lining up the shot. The tiger tank was using its machine gun, which had been newly manned after I had took out its first operator, to fire at us from a higher position. Before I could squeeze the trigger however there was a scream of pain from my left and I turned to see the top of the soldier's index and middle finger had been blown off by a round.

I climbed over the dead body, pulling the wounded soldier into the foxhole. He was screaming in agony so I got the morphine out first, plunging it into the vein in his wrist. I quickly bandage up his index finger, sprinkling some sulpha onto it first. The middle finger was difficult because it was actually hanging on by a shred of skin. I pressed a bandage on top of the hole but I couldn't just tear the finger off. I looked round and found a piece of branch which was the perfect size for a finger splint. I held that next to his finger and lifted the severed piece until the pieces met together and started wrapping the bandage around it.

An explosion rang out and I looked to see the gun of the Tiger Tank pointed towards our left flank. I stilled, remembering Harry's words from earlier; Dog Company were on our left flank, Ron was on our left flank and they were currently under heavy fire. The thought of Ron dead was not something I could handle. I needed to find Harry. I took off, running towards where I had been when the fire had started, thinking of a plan as I went. Again, I was crouched as low as possible but with all the bullets flying past me, it was only a matter of time. There was a whistle close to me and then a sharp pain and a trickling of moisture on my thigh. The adrenaline stopped me from feeling the full extent of my injury but it certainly hurt. I whimpered and my hand flew to the side of my thigh, covering what I was sure was only a graze. I continued moving, ignoring the pain that shot through my thigh each time I landed on it with my full weight. Finally I got to Harry and I fell next to him.

"Harry!" I shouted to get his attention. He stopped firing to give me his full attention, knowing that whatever I had to say was worth listening to. The tank had started to creep forward again, changing its position but it didn't stop firing. "We need to take out that tank. I have a plan."

I explained my plan to him while I wrapped a bandage around my thigh. I got a glimpse of the injury, it had taken a bigger chunk than I had thought but it still wasn't that bad. Harry nodded when I finished talking. "Ok, let's get out there."

I finished tying the bandage while Harry got the bazooka and the rounds. He turned back to me and handed me the Bazooka with a small smile. "This is pretty badass."

I shrugged. "It's just what I do." We took off into the open. The sun hit my face, it felt nice compared to being in the shadows for hours. I fell to my knees a bit away from the tank and balanced the bazooka onto my shoulder. I could feel Harry loading it up, machine rounds were hitting of the tank making a metallic clinking noise when they hit but no real damage was made.

Harry patted me on the shoulder to let me know it was loaded and I aimed it as best I could. I pulled the trigger, the evacuation of the round almost pushing me to the ground. It hit the left of the tank but made barely any damage. The bazooka started moving again on my shoulder, the tank creeping ever closer with every second. I felt Harry's breath in my ear as he moved close to talk to me.

"I know you're a good shot but hold our fire until I tell you, Duch." He yelled but it was drowned out mostly by the fire around us.

"You got it Harry." I yelled back. I trusted Harry, he wouldn't get me killed, he told me not get hurt often enough that he must care to some extent. Harry rested his head by my ear, ready to tell me when to fire. The tank crept closer, the front gun swivelling round, lining up a new shot. Two seconds after it stopped moving, it fired, taking down multiple trees in its path. Harry and I crouched down for cover and a medic cry rang out. My instinct was to go but I stayed put, re-aiming the bazooka to where it needed to hit, right in the belly on the tank. It came up a ridge, lifting the front end up, exposing the softer underpart of it.

"Fire, Duch!" Harry screamed, patting me on the shoulder to go. I fired it, again the fire almost knocking m to the ground. The round hit the bottom, a touch to the right with a great thud. The tank tipped forward, the gun facing the ground rendering it useless. A grin broke out on my face as I turned to leave, a shit-load of debris being kicked up when they fired the tank once more, the round hitting the ground. We ran back to cover, jumping into the ditch. We were on either side of Liebgott who turned to Harry first.

"You hit a home run, huh?" He smiled at Harry, before turning to me, his face becoming sombre. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He demanded, turning back to the line and starting to fire.

There was a medic call that bought me to my feet, stopping me from replying to Liebgott. My injured leg protested but I easily ignored it. I ran towards the repeated cries to find a soldier holding a bandage from his aide kit over another soldiers head, the bandage soaked with blood. He looked as though he was panicking more than the hit soldier. This was one of the foxholes where when the tank fired, a tree hit it. I crouched next to him and looked him in the eye.

"It's going to be alright, I can patch him up and he'll be fine." I promised, taking over his hands that were holding the blood soaked bandage to his friends head. His friend wasn't reacting but his chest was moving up and down in regular movements.

I lifted the bandage to see what was going on under there. It looked like when the tree feel it had grazed across his forehead taking a lump of skin with it. I just hoped that the hit hadn't caused any brain damage.

"I…I... gave him the morphine from my k-kit." The soldier stuttered, looking at his red hands.

I nodded my head. "You did good, private. Now get back to hitting the enemy, now." I ordered softly, wanting to take his mind off his friend.

He reached with shaking hands for his gun, lifting it and began firing randomly. I turned my attention back to the injury and got my canteen and some gauze. I tipped the water onto it, wiping away the dirt with the gauze. I didn't need to worry about being gentle with him being dosed up on morphine so I rubbed about to get the dirt, I couldn't chance infection setting in. When fresh blood started pouring out rather than the black spotted stuff from before, I sprinkled sulpha onto it before wrapping a new bandage around it tightly.

I followed another medic call, again to find the injured already dead on arrival. Another call came soon after and I followed the cry, recognising it as Buck's. I fell into the foxhole he was in, to find him holding a bandage over a soldier's forearm. I nodded at Buck in greeting, immediately lifting the bandage to look at the wound. Somehow, the bullet was near the top of the wound but I could visibly see it working its way deeper in. I didn't have time to find a syrette in my bag, going straight for my tweezers instead.

"Buck, hold him down." I ordered before I delved into his arm, trying to grab the end of the bullet with my tweezers. The man howled in pain and I apologised repeatedly as I kept trying to grab at the bullet but I couldn't get a hold of it. Soon it was going to hit something important and I needed to get it. I threw my tweezers into my bag and plunged my fingers into the cavity, immediately getting hold on the bullet and pulled it out. I grabbed the morphine at this point as the man continued to howl and plunged it in before getting the sulpha and bandage and applying them both.

I looked to Buck who was staring at me like I was some rabid wolf. "That was brutal." He commented, eyeing my blood soaked fingertips.

I sighed. "Get your eyes back on the line." He smirked before lunging back to the edge of the foxhole, his gun at the ready. I followed him and began firing, not hearing any medic calls. The German's were now out in the open, making them easier for me to target quickly. I took six down in quick succession before reloading for the second time.

"Geez, Duch leave some for the rest of us." Buck joked, taking down some of his own.

A rumbling noise came from my left and I turned to see it was Sherman's. I'd never been so glad to see backup. I squealed in happiness, smacking Buck on the shoulder in excitement before turning back to the Germans and continuing fire. It didn't take long for the Germans to be defeated after that. They began to retreat and we hit them all as they had their backs to us. Once we had done, I slouched down with my back against the foxhole. I looked to Buck who had just lit a Lucky Stripe and I took it from his mouth and put it into my own, inhaling deeply. The injured guy was crouched in front of us passed out from the morphine but was breathing evenly.

"Thought you didn't smoke." Buck commented, watching as I exhaled easily. "I expected you to cough."

I laughed a little, holding the smoke out to him. "Yeah well, I've lived with all you lot long enough. I'd never stop coughing if it bothered me."

Buck chuckled, taking it from me. "That's true."

I sighed heavily, feeling tired after all the running I had done. "I need to go check on everyone. See you in a bit." I stood and climbed out the foxhole, deciding to take a right because I was close to the end of the men. I walked, checking on everyone, patching up a few cuts that a medic wasn't called for during the fight.

I walked left once I got to the end. Some of the 2nd Armour were in amongst Easy, literally sharing war stories. I found Smokey bleeding from his head, another guy who had been hit by a falling tree.

"Hey, Smokey. You gonna let me patch that head up or am I gonna have to fight ya?" I teased as I got some gauze out of my pack.

He smirked at me, sitting up from his reclined position in front of the machine gun. "I think I'll let you patch me up."

I tilted his head back and tipped some water from my canteen onto his head, wiping away the dirt and dried blood with the gauze.

"You kicked ass with that bazooka." Smokey commented, wincing as I worked my way into his cut.

I shrugged. "It needed to be done." This was the first time my thoughts had returned to Ron, wondering if I had acted fast enough or if my actions had come too late.

I was about to wrap the bandage around Smokey's head when my forearm was grabbed, not unkindly but firmly, and I was hauled to my feet. I turned to see it was Liebgott, looking angry and tense. "What's wrong?" I asked nervously, thinking maybe someone was hit.

"I need to talk to you." He ground out, his eyes harder than I had ever seen.

"I need to finish…" I started but Liebgott cut me off.

"No, now." He demanded. He seemed so tense, the only option in my head is that something bad had happened.

I nodded. "Smokey, just tie the bandage round your head and you're set." Smokey nodded before Liebgott started leading me to an area that there were no soldiers in. "Who got hit?" I asked desperately, needing to get this out the way.

Liebgott shook his head. "No one." I breathed a sigh of relief before I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What the hell are you playing at Katie? Running out into the open, in front of tank?! You could have got hit!" his eyes drifted to my thigh that I had forgotten about. "You did get hit!" He knocked his helmet off and ran hand through his hair, breathing heavily.

This kind of annoyed me. I knew where it was coming from, it came from a good place because he cared for me. If one of them did something as insane as what I had I would be mad at them but I wouldn't take them away from their job to yell at them for it. "I'm fine, Lieb. But it would do you good to remember I am your Lieutenant and I will not put up with you taking me away from my job to yell at me. You are one of my closest friends but I cannot have you undermining me in front of the men, is that understood?" I was using the voice I used when I was ordering people around. I realised at that moment I actually channelled Ron in order to be able to be stern enough to sound like a Lieutenant.

Liebgott looked shocked that I was talking to him this way. "Yes ma'am." He answered seriously before a small grin appeared. "You're a good Lieutenant, don't take any shit."

I smirked back, feeling as though he had learnt his lesson. "Yeah well, I need to be, being a girl doesn't really mean people take you very seriously." I sighed. "I'm sorry for scaring you, running out like that. It needed to be done though."

Liebgott nodded, staring at the ground. "I just can't bear the thought of you getting hurt." I pulled him in for the hug we both desperately needed. I rested my head on his shoulder while he held me tight.

"I couldn't bear it if you got hurt either. Or Toye, or Luz or Bill. It took everything in me not to cry when Tab called for a medic yesterday." I murmured, feeling better to get that off my chest. Liebgott squeezed me even tighter.

We let each other go after a few more moments. "I need to go speak to Harry, sort out the evacuation."

Liebgott nodded. "I'll catch up with you later."

I found Harry quickly. He was reclined drinking from his canteen greedily. "Any of that going spare?" I questioned as I sat next to him.

He looked at his canteen as if he couldn't decide if I was worth some of his whiskey but eventually held it out to me. "You deserve it. According to it you got a drop on plenty of Krauts, patched up as many people as Doc Roe and Spina and ran into the open with a bazooka."

I drank from the canteen, enjoying the burning of the whiskey. "I'm pretty sure I wasn't alone with the bazooka." I nudged him in the leg with my knee with a smile.

He looked to me, smiling widely. "Yeah, there was some handsome hero with you."

I took one more sip from the canteen before handing it back to him with raised eyebrows. "I wouldn't say that." I teased, earning a shove in my helmet. I took my helmet off and shook my hair out.

Harry fingered a curl. "You've got blood in your hair." He commented.

"I've got blood fucking everywhere." I said dryly. It was an occupational hazard especially without a hair tie, I would have to push my hair out of my face with bloodied hands. My clothes were covered in the substance, not having had a clean uniform since the day after D-Day. I caught sight of my bandage and started to clean it up while discussing the evacuations with Harry. It didn't need stitches but would be a pain in the ass for a while. I put a new bandage over it, the other sticky with blood as I finished my conversation with Harry.

"Any news about Dog and Fox Company?" I asked, tiptoeing around the question I really wanted to ask.

"You didn't hear? They pulled back the minute the Tiger pulled up, left us high and dry." He sounded none too pleased about this.

I felt my eyes bulge. "You're kidding me?" Despite my anger that they had left us to fight on our own, it reassured me because it meant Ron was most likely safe.

He shook his head. "Nope ran away with their tails between their legs, Strayer's laying into the CO's right now."

Out of nowhere a guy from the 2nd Armour stood in front of us, staring at me. I raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to take a picture or have an autograph buddy?" I bit out. I hated it when we were around new companies and I became a novelty again.

He shook his head. "Are you Lieutenant Katie Millard?"

I rolled my eyes at his dumb question. "Well unless there is another girl around here, I'm the only option." I heard Harry snicker next to me.

"Another Lieutenant just asked me to find you and direct you in that direction, ma'am. He said he has a problem with one of his medics." He pointed to the left of him, his hand shaking slightly. I guess he wasn't used to harsh humour yet.

I frowned. "Who was the Lieutenant? What Company was he from?"

"He didn't say ma'am." The guy scuttled off when his platoon were ordered together and I couldn't help but smirk at how quickly he moved.

"That's a very mysterious message." Harry commented, wiggling his eyebrows as he did so.

I laughed standing up to ready myself to leave. "Fox Company is always having trouble with their medics. One of them actually fainted at the aide station when I had my finger in a guy's artery."

Harry shuddered. "I hate it when you talk nurse."

I laughed again, slinging my medics bag over my shoulder and then my gun, deciding to carry my helmet rather than wear it. "See you in a bit."

I walked in the direction the soldier had pointed, humming as I went. I nodded to Easy men as I passed, they all looked in high spirits. I continued walking into the areas where no Company was stationed, it was completely empty. My good mood quickly turned the moment I had been on my own for too long, after being able to think too much. My mind went to Tab, he would be at the aide station now, probably feeling lonely. He was used to being surrounded by the men but now he would be with people he didn't know though he would probably make friends quickly knowing Tab. I then thought of Liebgott and his outburst. I did need to start thinking about what I was doing before I did it. I hadn't even thought about the effect me running out in the open would have on others, or even the possibility that I could have got hit. My mind didn't have a chance to wonder to the people I had killed today because a voice called out in the open.

"You ran out into the open with a bazooka? What part of that idea isn't reckless and isn't suicidal?" I should have known it was Ron who had asked for me, I don't know why I thought otherwise. His voice was stern and he was definitely in Lieutenant Speirs mode, his voice barely resembling the man from last night.

I didn't bother looking round to try and find him, instead I just spoke to the empty space. "I had my reasons." I stated simply with a small shrug of my shoulders.

"You wanted to save your men but do you think they would really appreciate it when you were dead?" his voice came from a different place this time but I hadn't even heard him move. He was like a predator stalking his prey, moving in slowly so that they didn't even notice.

"Who said I did it for my men?" I slapped a hand over my mouth, surprised that I had said that out loud. My actions more than likely did save quite a few Easy men but they hadn't even been in my mind as I was holding the bazooka.

"Who did you do it for?" He asked, his voice losing a bit of the harsh and some of the huskiness breaking through causing me to smirk a bit.

"I don't think that's any of your business." I knew I was baiting him but I couldn't help it, I knew how to get to him and from his reaction last night I wanted nothing more than to get to him.

He stormed out from the bushes, obviously done with hiding. He strode towards me, eyes burning. He stopped just short of me, his helmet gone and hair messy across his forehead. I had to crane my neck to look at him properly. "Don't be a brat, just tell me." he demanded. I loved the fact that even when he slipped out of his Lieutenant role he was just as demanding and just as in control.

"They were firing on our left flank, they needed…" I went to go on and explain that I did it because Easy needed support from the left flank but I was stunned into silence when Ron wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him, his other hand going to my neck, tilting my head back so I continued to look at him.

"Who did you do it for?" It was still a demand but it came out as a seductive whisper. His smell surrounded me, I could feel the hard planes of his body and I could feel the heat coming from his body and eyes. All of this made me fuzzy headed.

"You." I murmured. His lips fell to mine, drugging me with a heady kiss that consumed me. His lips caressed mine. He suckled on my tongue before he moved his own against mine in an erotic dance. I whimpered when his hand dropped to my arse and squeezed. I didn't want it to end but I knew it had to.

Ron's lips fell to my jaw, pressing open mouthed kisses across it. I somehow managed to wrestle my brain back into action. I thought about how I would be kicked out of the army, who would look after all the guys then. This is what fuelled me to make a weak protest. "Ron, stop it." I felt him shake his head against my neck and his hold tightened on me. "If we get caught, it's me that gets kicked out of the army, not you. Think of me." I pleaded because I didn't have the will power to stop him, it felt too good and right.

He sighed heavily and removed his lips from my neck and rested his forehead on mine. "I do think of you, I think of you all the time." My breath hitched at this. "I think about that time I walked in on you back in Aldbourne and you were in that sexy lilac underwear set. I think about what's underneath the clothing. I think about what it would be like to lay you out in my bed, mine to touch in any way I please. I think most of all about what you look like when you lose control." His voice was hard enough for me to know he was serious but husky enough that his words got me heated.

I felt myself blush and I needed to say something in return. "Well don't you have some indecent thoughts." I was supposed to say this in a jokey tone but my voice came out all breathy.

Ron chuckled. "Yeah and from that blush, my thoughts have got you all hot."

I didn't feel embarrassed by this, it was true but I knew I got him all hot too. I wriggled my way out of his grasp, using every little bit of willpower I had when all I really wanted to do was lean into him and tell him to keep talking. "I'm going back to Easy." I muttered, avoiding his eyes completely. I turned and left, he didn't try to stop me or speak to me which I was glad for because I would have just caved in.

I wasn't long back into Easy territory when I found Bill, Toye, Luz and Liebgott sat together. "Hey, isn't that that crazy broad who ran into the open with a bazooka!?" Luz asked in joking tone.

I smiled as I sat next to them, needing the company to distract me. "It's her alright." I scanned the group for injuries but saw that they were all fine.

Toye was eyeing my thigh with the bandaged wrapped round it. "I swear you are just a magnet for trouble, you have been hurt in every piece of action we've seen."

"Fingers crossed I break that habit soon." I griped making them all chuckle. I had been cut on the neck on D-Day and that was mostly healed up, my stitches from Carentan and now this bullet graze. I really was a magnet.

"Lieb's just finished licking his wounds, Duch, we heard you dressed him down good." Bill ruffled Liebgott's hair and got a punch in the arm for his teasing.

I laughed at Liebgott's red face. "Yeah, well now he knows what you get if you stop me from doing my job. And that goes for all of you too." I pointed at each one of them seriously and got a "yes ma'am" in reply.

Luz coughed theatrically, gaining Bill's attention before motioning to me in a very obvious manner. "Do you think I can't see you two?" I asked, amused by their blatant actions.

Bill turned to me with a teasing glimmer in his eyes. "So, where did you get to after fixing up Tab, Duch?"

I looked around the group to see the four of them watching me with interest. "Why you asking?"

"Our mutual friend Luz told us that you came back looking flustered." Bill continued, tapping Luz on his shoulder.

I nodded my head slowly. "Well I had just had to patch up one of my closest friends stab wounds, of course I was flustered."

"Not that kind of flustered." Toye muttered with a cheeky smirk.

They all continued to watch me as I refused to give in and just blurt out what had happened. After a few moments of silence, I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to just come out and ask whatever you want to ask or are we just going to sit here in silence?"

"Did you meet up with someone before coming back to the foxhole? You avoided the question last night." Luz questioned, keeping his eyes on mine with a small smirk.

I couldn't help but laugh a little, despite him hitting the head on a nail. "I'm in the middle of a war, do you really think I'd be dumb enough to do something like that." I didn't want to outright deny what happened, instead teasing around it by a lie of omission.

The rest of them chuckled, Bill shoving Luz in the shoulder. "See I told you our Duchess has her head screwed on right."

We started talking about the fight we had just been involved in, moaning about Dog and Fox Company falling back but rejoiced in the 2nd Armour. Nix came over to us, out of hiding from next to Strayer. I gave him a hard look. "If you say we are moving out, I will beat you up."

He chuckled. "You've got fifteen minutes before we leave." The group sighed dramatically. Easy never seemed to get a break, it was just one thing after the other. "Winters doesn't know whether to yell at you or say 'good job' for what you did, Duch." Nix told me, smirking as he did so.

"I've been moaned at more than enough for today, thank you very much." I stretched my arms up, moaning a little when my shoulders popped before rolling my wrists so they popped as well. When I focused again the group were looking at me oddly. I quirked an eyebrow in question.

"That's a weird mixture of gross…" Bill started.

"…And hot." Toye finished in his raspy voice.

I burst out laughing, shaking my head at their ridiculousness. They were looking at me seriously but I ignored them as I stood up. "I'm gonna go find Doc and Spina." I gave them a little wave that they all returned and I took off.

I needed to see if we had enough supplies between us because Easy were more than likely going to walk into another fight before long. I was just glad that if we didn't have enough supplies we would tell Winters and supplies would be sent to us, this wouldn't always be the case and I dreaded the day that I would have to limit what I used on each patient.

_D-Day Plus 25_

"We need to know what's in there." Nix stated while peering at the abandoned looking farm house through his binoculars. I was crouched up front with Harry and Nix while the rest of the men hid in the dense forest behind us.

"I don't know who the hell to send." Harry muttered, clearly unhappy with this. I could see why, it would be easy for a sniper to be hidden anywhere in that building. I went to open my mouth to volunteer, viewing it that me going meant one less of the men had to.

"Not a chance in hell, Duch." Nix ordered before I could even make a sound.

"Fine then. Ask for volunteers?" I suggested.

Harry sighed. "I hate asking for volunteers."

Nix turned to Harry, looking a little annoyed his avoidance to send men in when necessary. "Then pick them."

Harry turned to the men. "Need to take a look at that farmhouse. Who wants to go?"

There was complete silence, everyone avoiding Harry's eye, no-one wanted to risk it anymore especially with rumours of us being pulled off the line. We had been fighting long enough that even those who had been excited to get into battle were done with it, everyone just wanted to stay safe now and I was glad that everyone was now being more precautious.

An unexpected figure stood, offering to go out there. It was Blithe. I hadn't had a chance to keep as close an eye as him as I would have liked. He tended to keep to himself and my time was either took up with casualties or keeping distracted with the guys. Though, with him volunteering it seemed I didn't need to keep an eye on him. He seemed more comfortable than before, more competent to do his job.

Harry looked to Blithe and nodded but there were no other volunteers. "Martin, Dukeman, you just volunteered."

The three of the started moving forward. "I'll be lead." Blithe announced.

Harry nodded before turning back to the farmhouse. "Blithe's lead scout. Move out."

They moved forward slowly. "Harry what exactly are you doing with your reserve shoot?" Nix asked Harry.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you." I tugged on the material but got my hand slapped away by Harry which made me grin. "You've been lugging this thing about since D-Day."

"Gonna send it back to Kitty when we get back to England." Harry explained. I loved it when Harry talked about Kitty, it was lovely that he was so in love with someone even in the middle of war. "Silk, figured it would make a good wedding dress, you know, what with rationing and all."

I couldn't help but let a little "aww" out. "She's one lucky girl." I told him sincerely. If your man was willing to carry round extra weight for you in a warzone, he was a keeper.

Nix chuckled. "Gees, Harry. I never would have guessed." I could sense the teasing tone in his voice as he looked through his binoculars again.

"What? That I'm so sentimental?" Harry asked.

"No, that you think we're gonna make it back to England." Nix finished in a voice that was edged with sadness.

"Wow, Nix. Way to keep the optimism up." I teased.

Nix gave me a look that I just grinned at before a shot rang out. "Here we go again." Harry muttered quickly before beginning to shout "Covering fire! Covering fire!" He motioned for the men to move in and I stood to see Blithe being pulled to cover by Martin and Dukeman, blood running from his neck.

I sprinted forward to meet them, ignoring the shots coming from my side of the line. Martin had clamped a hand over the wound. "Keep your hand there a minute."

Blithe was making little noises of pain that I couldn't ignore. With a neck wound like that it was highly unlikely he would live through it so I didn't want his potentially last moments to be spent in pain. I jabbed him with some morphine, hoping the reduction in pain might stop him from going into shock. I moved Martin's hands and slapped a bandage over the top while hunting for a sulpha packet. I sprinkled it onto the wound before holding the bandage to his neck again. Tying the bandage wouldn't keep enough pressure where it need to be so I kept one of my hands where it was, using the other to check his pupils. They were as good as they could be which gave me a little hope. Doc came running up, passing Winters as he went.

"Put in a plasma drip." I ordered before turning my attention to Blithe. "You're going to be fine Blithe." I assured him.

I didn't take long for him to be evacuated, which I was glad for. I watched as they took him away, wiping at my bloodied hands with a big leaf. "We're being taken of the line." Winters told me, his eyes trained on my hands.

I let out a sigh of relief. "You are an angel, Winters."

We all needed a break, we all needed proper rest and a decent meal. But most of all we needed a break from death.

* * *

**A/N: There won't be as many updates for this fanfiction as before for two reason. One, I'm at university and it's assessment time so I'm having to focus on that rather than what I really love doing which is writing fiction rather than essays on popular culture and the criminal legal system. And number two is that I have a really short attention span and am a little bored with writing this fanfiction. Because of this I have started another one for Stand By Me and I'm going to swap between the two depending on whether I'm bored or not. Another issue with the BOB fic is that I've just got back into Gossip Girl and am finding it really hard to write Speirs when at the moment he is Rufus Humphreys in my head. I promise I am going to finish this though, I have too much love for the characters not to! Please don't hate me for this!**


	14. Authors Note

**Hello readers and sorry that this is an authors note not a chapter. First of all thank you for even taking the time out to read my fan fiction, I am so grateful. **

**Secondly, I am writing again and am currently mapping out what is going to happen in each chapter so I can just write without having to stop to come up with a plan.**

** I would however like to hear some ideas from you lot because I want to know how you see things going or how you view the relationships. Even if it's just a line of speech you want put in because you think it suits a character that would be great, everything will help! So please review or message me and I will give you a shout out if I use your idea.**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm back! **

**I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! **

_July 9__th__, 1944, Field Camp North of Utah Beach_

It took days to get to the field camp, there weren't enough jeeps or trucks so we had to walk there. So much for Easy's rest. We finally dragged ourselves into the camp, all groaning from blisters and sore muscles.

"I swear to God I'm being punished for something." I groaned, dragging my pack pathetically behind me.

"You and every other man in Easy, sugar." Bull muttered from around his faithful cigar.

"Listen up!" A soldier yelled from his place on a raised platform. "Easy Company are stationed in the D row tents. Grab a bed where you can boys."

I started walking, following the group of Easy men when my pack was grabbed and I was tugged backwards. "What now?" I complained, not even bothering to fight the motion that bought me into the centre of my closest friends.

"Just making sure you get in a tent with us." Bill told me, tucking me under his arm.

I smiled at this. "Urgh, do I have to?" I teased.

"Yes, you don't have a choice." Luz told me, ruffling my hair.

Some of the strands fell into my face, greasy and matted together. "Oh my God, my hair is a crime against the female species right now."

I got a look off Liebgott that had me asking 'what'. "You are the most dramatic person I know." He said with a shake of his head but I knew it was said in a good nature.

"Excuse me, I have blood in my hair, I am not being dramatic."

"You are a nurse who doesn't tie her hair up, what do you expect?" Bill teased.

Toye nudged me in the arm, underestimating his own strength and sent me stumbling to the side into Bill, who shoved Toye in reprimand. "Careful with the Duchess."

Toye nodded to the right of us. "Winters was calling you over."

I looked to where he had nodded and sure enough Winters was waving me over. I started to go over to him hen Toye grabbed the strap of my bag. I gave him a questioning look to which he just tugged the strap again. "Give me your stuff, I'll put it on a bed for you." He explained and I let my pack slide off my shoulder.

I smiled brightly at him. "Thank you." It felt amazing to have the weight of my pack off my shoulder, I bet I'd have furrows in my shoulder from the weight. I went over to Winters, enjoying the small smile on his lips that I hadn't seen it a while. "Hello, sir."

"Lieutenant Millard." He nodded in greeting. "I just wanted to tell you that Colonel Sink has heard about your work out in the field and is very pleased with it."

I felt myself blush and shrugged awkwardly, I didn't like getting praise. "I was just doing my job sir."

Winters shook his head. "No, you did more than your job. Anyway, because of your hard work I don't want to see you anywhere near that aide station for a while, is that understood?"

I gaped at him, not believing I was being ordered to stay away from my work. "How long constitutes as a while, an hour? Maybe two?" I asked hopefully.

Winters chuckled softly. "I was thinking a couple of days, you need your rest."

I sighed heavily. "For two days I will steer clear, sir."

He nodded. "I feel as though that is the best I am going to get from you. See you later." He walked off with a small wave and I turned to find the tent the boys had walked to.

I popped my head into all the D row tents until I finally found them. Along with Bill, Toye, Liebgott and Luz there was also Bull, Malarkey, Muck, Hoob and Grant in the tent.

"What did Winters want?" Bill asked once I had sat on the bed Toye had put my pack on which was between his and Bill's bed.

"Told me I have to stay away from the aide station for two days." I grumbled, still not entirely happy about it.

I heard Luz gasp in mock horror from opposite me. "The horror of having time off work. To not have to be around blood and infections and whatever else is in there." He cried.

I threw the back of my hand to my forehead in mock dismay. "How will I ever cope?" I joked before laughing. I looked down at myself and frowned. "Do we know if they are giving out new uniforms? The war torn field nurse look is so five minutes ago."

Toye nodded from his bed, a Lucky Stripe dangling from his mouth. "Yeah, outside the showers they are handing them out."

I nodded. "Guess I'm going to have a shower then."

Half an hour later I was freshly washed and in a new uniform. The colour of the water as it ran off me had been a disgusting mixture of black and red, it had took a full fifteen minutes before it was a normal colour again. I was walking back to the tent when someone called my name. I turned to see it was Liebgott, panting as he ran after me.

"I was looking for you everywhere." He told me once he had caught up, slightly out of breath. I put a hand on his arm and waited for him to catch his breath. "Don't take this as me teasing you but I thought you would want to know." He stopped again panting and I couldn't take the tension any longer.

"What, Lieb?" I pushed.

He looked me dead in the eye, a grim look settling in them. "Speirs got hit."

My heart plummeted, I felt myself go pale and I thought I was going to be sick. "Is he alive?" I whispered quickly. Liebgott nodded frantically, to reassure me as quickly as possible. I didn't ask any more questions and took off towards the aide station, needing to see him for myself. I burst through the tent flaps, looking around for him. I grabbed the arm of a guy with a medic's band.

"Where's Lieutenant Speirs?" I demanded, watching the guy cower slightly at my tone.

"Bottom bed on the right." He told me while pointing to the right.

I tried to keep myself from running but I couldn't so I barged my way through. I thought of the medic's from Dog Company and got even closer to falling over the edge into hysterics. To say they weren't the best was a bit of an understatement, Easy were lucky they had Doc Roe and I. Ron finally came into sight, his skin pale except for that that was painted with his own blood. There was a bandage tied around the left side of his face and then one on his left knee as well as a splint tied to the bottom half of his leg. His eyes were closed but there was a grimace set on his face, telling me he wasn't asleep.

I rushed to his side and brushed his fringe of his forehead, feeling his skin to be hot and clammy but he was shivering. He had a fever which meant he probably had an infection of some sort. "Ron?" I whispered, hoping he would respond.

His eyes cracked open, looking tired yet when he realised it was me a small smile broke out on his face. "I haven't seen you in a while." He commented, as if he wasn't in a hospital bed. Easy and Dog had been sent off to complete different missions so we had had no more run-ins.

"What happened?" I asked him, my voice shaking slightly. This was a truly horrible experience, seeing him hurt like this.

He grabbed the hand that I had rested on his forehead and linked our fingers together, tugging me to sit on the edge of the bed before resting our joined hands on his chest. "Got hit by a potato masher, broke my lower leg." He told me, sounding angry about his injuries.

"Are they giving you antibiotics?" I questioned. He shook his head in answer which made me sigh heavily. I leant over to check his injuries but stopped myself, looking to him to see he was watching me closely. "Do you mind?" I motioned to the bandages.

He shook his head. "Go ahead, I trust you more than I do the doctors."

I felt myself flush at his complement, glad that I had his trust. Even as weak as he was his voice retained its hard edge. I lifted the bandage on his knee, the inflamed flesh around the wound indicating a definite infection. I put the bandage back in place, before standing and walking over to one of the medics in charge who was conveniently of a lower rank than me. "Excuse me, Lieutenant Speirs needs antibiotics immediately. Where would I find them?" He pointed disinterestedly to a trolley over to the left of him. I nodded and went over to it, hunting for the dosage that I thought would be best.

I returned to Ron, carrying a canteen of water with me. I handed him the canteen before opening the top of the pills and handing one to him. "You need to take one of these three times a day until the jar is done with." I instructed, my nurse voice coming out despite my best efforts.

He took the pill without complaint before taking my wrist and tugging me back to my seat next to him. "You looked pretty worried when you got here." Ron stated, keeping his eye on me to see my response.

I shrugged. "I think I've made it clear more than once that I care." I felt myself blush despite trying hard not to be embarrassed. His eyes were warm as they stared back into mine and a small smirk played on his lips. I coughed awkwardly. "Do you know when you're going to be sent back to England?"

Ron frowned. "Who say's I'm going to be sent back?"

I let out a disbelieving laugh. Of course he was going to be sent back, his injuries would take at least six weeks to heal. "Your broken leg says you're being sent back."

He shook his head. "I'm not being sent back, once I get some crutches I'll be fine."

I raised an eyebrow. "Of course, because a limping Lieutenant is always useful in the field." He opened his mouth to argue but I held a hand up to stop him and was surprised when he did but his silence was accompanied by a hard look. "Look, you need to rest and arguing with me does not come under that heading. I'm gonna go, I'm not supposed to be in here anyway."

"You're a nurse, why aren't you allowed in here?"

"Winters wants me to rest so I'm not allowed in for two days." I grumbled. I stood up to leave but Ron caught my wrist so that I would turn to look at him.

"Come visit me when you're allowed back." The lack of 'will you' at the beginning of the sentence made it an order and this made me smirk until I sobered up, realising where we were. I shimmed my hand from his and took a step back, ensuring that he couldn't get hold of it again.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" I dropped the volume of my voice in an attempt to make sure only Ron heard me.

Ron gave me a look that told me that I would be spending time with him regardless of what I said to convince him that we shouldn't see each other. It was a look of arrogance and stubbornness. The arrogance came from the fact that he knew how much he affected me. "Just friends, Katie. I'm good with that."

I thought for a moment and smiled, I could do just being friends. I mean I was friends with countless other good looking men and it wasn't an issue so why did it need to be with Ron. Well, probably because I knew how amazing his lips were on mine, how he could turn me on in under five seconds and how he had dirty thoughts about me like I did for him. That's why it was a problem but I would ignore all the issues to get to know him better. Apart from when we went horse riding, we had never really just talked, we had always been on the verge of having an argument with one another and we both knew what the outcome of out arguments were now. I would just have to rise above it if our meetings ever got heated, all in the name of friendship.

"Well, I already have a lot of friends and a list of people waiting to be put into that category but I can add you to the list of prospects if you want." I teased, watching his small smirk grow until he chuckled. I vowed to make sure I made him laugh as much as possible in the time we spent together, I would never get enough of that noise. "I'll see you in two days."

Ron's lips quirked slightly. "I'm holding you to that."

I turned to leave, ordering him to remember to take his pills as I went but I didn't need to really, I knew he would. As I got closer to the entrance of the tent a familiar crop of brown hair came into view. Nix was watching me with mischief speckled eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. I frowned in question to what he was so chirpy about so he flicked his chin in the direction that I had just walked from. I spun round my eyes landing on Ron instantly and I felt my eyes widen in realisation. Nix must have seen some of our exchange, being too far away to hear what was said but with the hand holding and close contact, Ron and I would have looked cosy to say the least.

Nix's grin grew before he took off out of the tent in a fast walk. I quickly followed out of the tent before breaking into a full on run when I had Nix in my sights. Being taller than me, his quick steps ate up the ground almost as fast as my run did so it took me a bit to catch up to him. I finally did, just as he walked into his tent. Knowing that it was going to be empty as he was housed on his own, I threw my weight at Nix, my arms around his waist so that he fell to the floor with a thud with me on top of him. He quickly managed to turn himself over, a surprised laugh coming from him when he realised it was me when who had managed to rugby tackle him.

"Jesus, Duch, if you wanted me that badly you could have just asked." He joked, eyeing the way that I was positioned, straddling his hips.

I felt myself blush but I ignored it. "Promise me you won't say anything." I demanded.

Nix quirked an eyebrow. "And what would I say?" He asked, the tone in his voice indicating he was playing dumb.

I clipped him over the head jus hard enough so that he would feel it. "Stop fucking about. If you say the wrong thing to the wrong person, I'm out. And then who would you make your pervy comments to?"

Nix rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, I wouldn't say anything to risk getting you kicked out. I care about you too damn much."

I leaned forward slightly, bracing my hands on his chest so I didn't topple forward. "Promise me, please Nix."

He sighed, his breath fanning across my face and shifting a few strands of my hair. "Fine, I promise but only if you tell me what's going on with you two, are you two fucking?"

There was a cheeky grin on his face but I couldn't help but grimace at his crass terminology. "No we aren't. We are just friends and I was worried about him like I would be if any of my friends got hit."

Nix crossed his arms over his chest, knocking my wrists as he did so with his forearms so that I pitched forward, catching myself before I basically landed on his face. With my hands on either side of his head, my face inches from his face I realised what a compromising position I was in and scrambled off of him. I stood back up and Nix followed suit, looking a little flustered like I was feeling.

"If he is just a friend than why are you so worried about something being said?"

I started stammering, realising that if I had just played it cool people would have accepted that we were just friends easier. Finally I managed to rally up an answer. "Because people make comments as it is and I don't want to encourage it if I can help it."

"Fine, fine. I promise not to say anything." He took his flask from his hip and took a sip before coming up empty. "I gotta go find Winters and refill this."

I shook my head at him. "Vat 69 huh?" Everyone knew that Nix drank more whiskey than anything else, even Harry drank less than him. I was keeping an eye on him to make sure it didn't become an issue.

He nodded. "Only the finest for Mrs Nixon's baby boy." He told me with a smile, as we both made our way out the door. "Oh by the way, Talbert is going to be back some time in the two weeks."

I felt my smile grow in size, I missed Tab like crazy. "Good, I need his stupid arse back where I can keep an eye on him."

With that we went our separate ways, him going to stock up on the only thing that seemed to keep him sane and me back to the barracks. I walked in to find many of the guys lounging about on their cots, some of them fast asleep. Bill, Toye, Liebgott and Bull however where sat around talking to one another. When Liebgott caught sight of me he motioned me over.

"Who the hell are you, beckoning me over?" I joked as I sat next to him on his cot with Bull on the other side of me.

The other three chuckled while Liebgott ruffled my hair in retaliation. "Is he alright then? Speirs, I mean?"

I let out a breath, thinking about his pasty colouring and infection. "Yeah, he'll be fine with some rest."

"What happened to him?" Bull asked, smoking what looked to be a brand new cigar. We really were being spoilt.

"Potato masher, he broke his lower leg and his face is a bit cut up." I didn't bother adding that he was lucky really, I didn't even want to consider what could have happened to him.

Bill nudged my knee with his own, giving me a small smile obviously knowing what I was thinking. "While you were gone there's been a bit of gossip going around."

My heart started to pump a little faster at this, my self-absorbed side immediately thinking it was about me. "Oh, yeah. Anything good churning out of the rumour mill?"

"Apparently we are going to get shipped out again in under two weeks…" I sighed heavily at this news, thinking that it wasn't long to rest up. "…to England." Bill finished with a flourish.

I felt myself start to smile despite knowing that it was just a rumour and if there was any truth behind it, those plans could change at any second. "Well, coming from the horse's mouth that is our intelligence officer, Tab should be back within two weeks."

"Good." Toye muttered. We had all been missing our friend and it would be great to have him back.

At that point, Perconte stuck his head in the tent and shouted, "Food time fellas!"

"Ooooooo, I wonder if we'll be lucky enough to have some recognisable meat." I joked, making the room laugh as we left.

_July 15__th__,1944, Field Camp North of Utah Beach_

The Lieutenant in charge of the aide station hated me. That could be the only reason that I was stuck doing paperwork non-stop and not allowed near patients to treat them. I had tried to talk to him many a time to let me treat some patients but he was stubborn and wouldn't let me.

"What's that frown for?" Ron questioned from his bed. I was sat on a chair next to him, my feet propped up on his bed for me to use as a table for the multiple reports I was writing out and signing.

I had only been allowed to stay by his bed when Ron gave the 1st Lieutenant who disliked me such a stern talking too I thought the man was going to cry. Ron was looking better than he was, now having the strength to pull himself up so that he was sitting and he had a bit more colour back to his face. In the two days I had been sat by his bed we had actually managed to keep things friendly and strictly that, though it had taken a lot for me not to flirt, something that had come as quite a shock to me.

"You know what." I grumbled, not looking up from the evacuation sheet I was filling out.

I heard him chuckle, a sound I had found I could make him make quite easily. "It could be worse."

"I hate paperwork! I'd rather be covered in blood than this stupid ink." I continued to complain, dropping the pen to rub at the splotches of black ink on my skin. "Can we get back to the game please? I need a distraction."

The day before we had started a game of asking each other basic questions back and forth but hadn't had a chance to ask more than two questions each because I had been told to go to the stock room and count everything. So far I had found out his favourite colour was green and he enjoyed the autumn. Not exactly hard hitting stuff but like I said, basic questions. He had learnt from me that I like the spring and liked the colour purple.

"Fine. What's your favourite book?" He leant down to try and itch the bandage on his leg but I quickly leant forward and slapped his hand away. He gave me a dark look. "I swear if you were anyone else…" he let his would be threat tail off.

I gave him a sickly sweet smile. "Leave it alone. You scratching it isn't going to make it heal any faster." I got myself settled again, papers on my knees. "I like The Hobbit."

Ron nodded, seemingly impressed with my answer. "I read that while we were in Aldbourne, found it on your bookshelf."

I smiled, thinking of him reading my deeply thumbed copy. "It's pretty brilliant. Where are you from?"

"Massachusetts in Boston but I was originally born in Scotland, left when I was four." He told me. I wasn't looking at him (I was back to writing that a Private E Perkins had nothing more than chlamydia and did not need to be evacuated) but I could feel his eyes on me.

"Have your parents got Scottish accents?" When I got an affirmative reply I continued. "That's why your accent is different then, Scottish and Bostonian."

"Must be. What's your favourite food?"

"It's a tossup between my nans chicken pie… shit…" A file slid off my lap so I bent to retrieve it. "… or a nice piece of steak." My mouth salivated at the thought of actual food, even more at the thought of eating till I was full. I had slowly been losing weight ever since I had joined the army but since we had gone into combat that had just accelerated. Whereas the boys retained their muscles, I became bony, one step away from being able to count my ribs without sucking in. "Which starlet is taking your fancy at the moment then?"

I stunned myself a little with this question. I had been wanting to ask it because it showed what a man's taste in a lady was and I desperately wanted to know if I was of Ron's usual taste yet in favour of been friends I had resisted, well not for long. There was no answer for a while and I kept my eyes on the stock sheet I was editing. After a while though the silence just became ridiculous so I looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow to see if I could push him into an answer. The moment my eyes met his, he decided to answer.

"None of them." he told me simply, nothing but honesty in his face.

I couldn't help the surprised laugh that came out. "Come on, none of them. Not even Ann Miller or Rita Hayworth?" He shook his head in answer. "Why?"

Ron gave a nonchalant shrug, as if he wasn't saying that none of the most beautiful women in the world did it for him. "My tastes have changed recently." His intent gaze was on me as if to make the point that his taste was in fact crazy haired, red heads from England.

I felt myself begin to blush terribly and couldn't help the pleased little smile that came to my lips. I went to go back to my editing only to be distracted moments later by someone calling my name.

"Lieutenant Millard!" Rang through the tent, a voice I recognised.

"Vest, I'm over here!" I shouted back, not even turning around. He would spot my hair soon enough. Proving my point, I could hear his footfalls a few moments later.

"Lieutenant Millard, your mail. It's being sitting in the post office since before you got here." Vest told me, holding out three letters for me to take.

I took the letters off him, noticing my grandmother's hand writing on the first envelope. "Thanks, Vest." I smiled at him widely. His eyes shot between me and Ron, obviously trying to figure out why I was sat next to him. He almost looked like he was going to ask but instead he saluted the two of us with a wish of good health (in a slightly scared voice) to Ron and left.

I looked to Ron to see if he had noticed Vest looking between us and he smirked at me. "People really have a low opinion of me don't they?"

I smiled at him. "Actually they have a very high opinion of you. You just scare the shit out of them."

He chuckled deeply, the sound only making my own smile grow. "Who are your letters from?"

I put my files on the floor and sat back with my feet up again. "Let's see. This one's obviously from my Nan so my grandads is probably in there too. Then this one seems to be from my friend in London. And then this one is… what the fuck?" Surprise and a little bit of dread resonated through me followed by embarrassment.

"Who's it from?" Ron asked, puzzled by my reaction.

I ripped the envelope open, ignoring the writing to focus on the signature at the bottom. I sighed heavily, weighing whether it was worth lying and having Ron bug me about it or just tell the truth however embarrassing it was.

"A solider I met in London, called Jonah. We spent some time together down there." I was avoiding his eyes feeling like I was going to be chastised.

Jonah and I had met when I was working in the hospital. He was training not far from London and came up whenever he had a weekend pass. He asked me to go to one of the dances with him and he was so charming that I immediately thought I was falling for him. I believed I was having my movie moment of a solider swooning over me. Inevitable I slept with him, giving him a part of myself I was never going to get back and I later learnt, something he didn't deserve. After I had slept with him I hadn't heard from him again, until I saw him with another girl. I stopped thinking about him after that. I knew it was a letter from him because he used to send me notes at the hospital so I knew his hand writing but it had been so long, literally years, I had no clue why he was writing to me.

"Were you together?" Ron asked, his voice taking on the stern tone that made everyone terrified of him.

I looked to him, seeing a shadow of anger in his eyes. I gave a self-deprecating smirk. "I think it would be labelled as an affair rather than a relationship." I looked away from him, not wanting to see the judgement in his eyes. I slipped the letter back into its envelope, scrunching it up and throwing it into the bin two beds over from Ron.

"You're not going to read it?" Ron pushed, looking relived and puzzled at the same time. I couldn't help but feel pleased that he was bothered about Jonah writing to me, in fact I was absolutely chuffed.

I scoffed. "That guy isn't worth my time. I'd rather be doing paperwork." I ripped open the letter form my Nan next. There were three letters in side, two of them being from my Nan and Grandad, with the other having writing on top of it reading "this is for Ronald Speirs dear, I didn't know how else to get a letter to him". "Well aren't you lucky, you've got a letter from my Nan too." I held out the letter to him and he had a pleased looking smile on his face.

We spent the next few minutes in silence reading our letters, mine being a catch up of events in town (Mr Paulson was still refusing to dig up his back garden to grow vegetables), an update that Archie was still alive and annoying, assurances they were both in good health and orders to stay safe and do good.

I put my letter down and looked to Ron to see if he had finished reading to find he was in fact watching me, a warm look settled in his eyes. "What did your letter say?" I asked, curious as to what my Nan had written to him.

"Just that she hoped I was ok and that we were looking out for each other." He told me.

I smiled. "I swear that woman becomes attached to people she says hello to in the street." I joked making him chuckle.

"She's a good woman."

"That she is." I smiled, settling myself back in to finish my work. "Your question."

We continued to talk until I had finished all the paperwork that had been piled on me. On the last flick of my final signature of the day, I sighed in relief. "I'm done." I stood up, attempting to hold onto the multiple files piled in my arms. "Right, well Lieutenant shit for brains is probably gonna make me leave after I've handed these in so I will see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." He said with a small smile.

"Get some rest and don't forget your pills." I ordered as I turned my back on him, the heavy weight settling in my stomach as I left him. I didn't feel sad, not by a long shot because I knew I'd see him tomorrow, it was more a feeling of being unsettled, like something wasn't right.

I pushed the feeling to the side as I awkwardly knocked on Lieutenant Small's make shift door, quickly being called inside. Once in after manoeuvring the door handle with my hands full, I wasn't surprised to see the 1st Lieutenant looking annoyed, a deep frown set on his face. I set the paperwork down on his desk with a triumphant smile.

"Lieutenant Millard, that paperwork was meant to last you two days minimum." He ground out, his tiny jaw clenching.

"Well, I got it done so now I'll be able to start working on patients again tomorrow." I said with confidence.

Lieutenant Small gave a little smile. "Not so fast, the stock take needs to be done tomorrow and there will be more reports that need to be written and edited."

"I did the stock count yesterday and finished the report today. Another one doesn't need to be dome until the new stock comes in." I don't know who he was trying to fool I had probably been working as a nurse longer than he had been in the army, I knew how things were done.

"I don't really think that's up to you, I'm your superior officer, I make the decisions about what you do." He told me, his voice attempting to get firmer to intimidate me but it wasn't working. Yet I couldn't get into it with a superior officer.

"You're right sir, my apologies." I said with a blank voice hoping it came out sounding respectful rather than bitter like the words tasted.

He nodded, seemingly pleased with himself. "Good, now get out of my sight."

Once my back was to him I rolled my eyes. In all honesty he wasn't useless at his job, I had seen him in action and he knew his stuff and he kept on top of all his paperwork thanks to his delegating but he obviously had an issue with me. And I didn't mind doing some paperwork but I seemed to be the only medic about doing any, the others were left to treat patients.

As I left the medic camp I noticed there had been an influx in new faces, faces that didn't even look old enough to have started shaving. Replacements. It was an inevitability that they would come eventually but I couldn't even begin to imagine how they would fit in with the rest of the company when we had been together for pressing three years.

I turned to walk back to the tent to get the boys for dinner but I got stopped by an accent I was very much accustomed too. "Excuse me, Miss?"

I turned round, unable to stop my eyebrows flying up into my hair line. I hadn't been called 'Miss' since I had been in London. I was greeted with the sight of four replacements, two of them about the same height, thin, one with copper coloured hair and the other dark, the third being my height with a sweet face and brown hair, with the fourth being short, maybe shorter than Perconte, with black hair and it was clear to see he was Latino. I scratched my neck purposely by my Lieutenant bars, watching as their eyes followed my hand. I did this because I didn't want to make them call me what they were supposed to, it was easier and less embarrassing for them to arrive at that conclusion themselves.

"I mean Lieutenant." The ginger one corrected himself with a little smile. He was the one who had a Philadelphia accent, one so like Bill's it was scary.

"What can I do for you?" I asked them.

"Could you point us in the direction of Easy Company's CO please, ma'am?" The one that was my height asked politely.

I smiled widely at them. "Oh you're all in Easy?" They nodded their answer silently. "Well, so am I. I'm going in that direction so you might as well come with me."

We started walking so I asked all of them their names. I was introduced to Babe Heffron, Lester Hashey, Antonio Garcia and James Miller. "I'm Katie but you'll learn pretty soon almost everyone calls me the Duchess or Duch."

"Have you been with Easy Company long?" Hashey asked.

Babe tutted before I could even open my mouth to answer. "Hashey this is _the_ Duchess, everyone is talking about her. The first female paratrooper."

I quirked an eyebrow. "They are?"

Miller, Babe and Garcia nodded while Hashey was still pulling up a blank. "I heard about you fighting a kraut on D-day with only a knife." Miller offered.

"Yeah and I heard that you ran out of cover with a bazooka and took out a kraut tank." Garcia chipped in.

I could feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment so decided to change the conversation. "I've been with them since Toccoa." I told Hashey.

"What are they like then?" Miller asked.

I smiled encouragingly, it must be nerve-wracking for them. "They are good men, a bit… well erm…" I couldn't find a word to say that the men took the piss a lot. "…well basically you need to learn to return fire, that'll help you fit in." I looked to Babe. "You from Philadelphia?"

"Yeah, South Philadelphia. How'd a British girl like you know that?"

"There's a South Philly guy already in the company, one of my closest friends actually. You'll obviously have something in common with him." By this point we had made it to Winters tent. "Winters, are you decent?" I yelled so that he could hear. When I heard 'come in' I popped my head into the tent, smiling widely. "Fresh meat for you."

He turned his head to look at me from his desk with his signature little smile. "You better have been nice." He told me, dropping his pen onto the desk and standing to come outside.

I gave a mock gasp. "Am I ever anything but that?" When Winters stepped out of the tent, the four replacements sprang to attention, saluting fiercely. I couldn't help the little giggle that escaped, it was odd for me to see people react as such when the rest of the company were very lax when it came to saluting.

"At ease, men." Winters directed.

Once the men settled with their feet shoulder width apart and hands behind their back I spoke again. "Right, I'll leave you to it." They went to salute but I shook my head. "No need, trust me." I gave Winters a quick salute of my own and left.

I hoped they would fit in. I hoped all the replacements would because in the end they needed to to stay alive and to keep the other men alive. Everyone had to care about one another to an extent otherwise they wouldn't work as well as they needed to or wouldn't fight as hard as they would if they did care. I just hoped that my guys were big enough boys to let newbies into their club.

_24__th__ July, 1944, Field Camp North of Utah Beach_

"Royal Flush, I win." Ron gave me a look followed by a cocky smirk. "Again."

We had been playing poker for an hour with a battered pack of cards I had found and I had yet to win a hand. Ron was being evacuated later today so we were packing in some last minute time with each other. I had spent most of my time in the camp with him though, my paperwork stint only ending three days before so I had been sat at his bedside during working hours unless I had being doing stock.

"How…just how?" I was stunned, I was good at poker yet Ron was making a mockery of me.

"You're easy to read." He told me shuffling the cards deftly. "Like a book."

I scoffed. "That is so not true, I think you're cheating." I was good at hiding my emotions, really good at it, well I thought I was good.

Ron chuckled. "You really are a sore loser." I stuck my tongue out at him childishly, which only caused him to grin. "Do you know what's happening with Easy Company yet?"

"Supposedly we are being shipped back to England but I really cannot see that happening to be honest." I said with a sigh.

"What about the replacements, they fitting in yet?"

I shook my head, my lips pursed. "Nope. Cobb bit their heads off so they are too terrified to talk to anyone but each other and me."

"They treating you right?" he asked, keeping his eyes on his cards.

The question came as a shock to me. "Excuse me?"

He gave me a look. "Are they respecting you like they should be, treating you like a Lieutenant?"

I nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't they be? Besides, the guys would kick their arses if they weren't so thank God they are."

"They'd have to get in line after me." Ron stated.

I couldn't help but blush. I was glad to have had this time with Ron, just being friends and getting to know one another. It made my feelings make more sense to know he really was a good guy who was funny and caring as well as being badass but this didn't change the fact we couldn't be nothing more than friends. "Full house." I stated, setting down my cards.

"Four of a kind." He replied, smirking as he did so.

"You know what, I'm done with cards." I sat back in my chair, sulking at the fact I had continuously lost. I stared at my feet until the feeling of Ron's eyes on me became too much and I looked up to meet them.

He was watching with a look in his eyes that I could not decipher. "You're cute when you pout."

Before I could say anything, I felt my cheeks heat up instantly. "Th-thanks I suppose?" I didn't know how to react to a compliment. I got them quite often from the guys but I could laugh them off. With Ron, that didn't seem like an option.

"Duch!" Rang through the tent. I didn't respond quick so there was another yell. "Duchess!"

I rolled my eyes and stood, walking away from Ron for a moment. "For fuck's sake Malarkey, what?"

Noticing me now that I had spoken he grinned and made his way over to me quickly, so we were both in the middle of the tent. There was a pink tinge to his cheeks and his eyes were more dilated than usual so either he had been drinking or had just been flirting with a pretty lady. However, I was the only girl on base so I'm going to assume he had been drinking.

"Malarkey people are sick in here so it's not the place for you to come in shouting, alright?" I told him, hoping to not sound the bitch.

"Right, sorry ma'am." He replied respectfully before slipping back into my good friend. "Tab's back and I've got orders to bring you to the mess hall." There was an excited air to him that I couldn't ignore. I also noticed he was in his official uniform while I was still in my same old grungy uniform because I had technically been at work. But hearing that Tab was back there was no way I wasn't leaving to go see him.

"I'll meet you outside in a minute ok." When he nodded I walked back to Ron.

"I've got to go, my presence is demanded at the mess hall." I told him. "I probably won't see you before you leave so…" I leant down and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me. His arms soon wrapped around my waist, squeezing me tight like he didn't want to let go. This felt right, being this close to him. I felt his head turn and then his lips against my temple in a soft kiss.

"In case you don't get sent back to England, be safe." His voice was deeper than usual, full of emotion.

I finally let him go, standing to my full height "Stay off that leg and do what the doctors say, I mean it." I told him, pointing my finger at him. "See you when I do."

"Bye." He replied as I started to walk away, only turning around to give him a sad smile. That feeling of being unsettled was so much worse this time and it was coupled with sadness because I didn't know when I was going to see him again.

I felt myself welling up a bit and didn't manage to shake the tears by the time I got to Malarkey. He was sat in the side car of an army motorcycle while Moore sat straddling the bike, both drinking beers. "Hey, why are you crying?" Moore asked, seemingly surprised that I had an emotional range.

"I kneed a bed frame as I was walking out." I lied easily, rubbing my knee to add to it. "Well, well, well boys, I can't see you two being signed off on to take this." I teased, motioning towards the bike.

They both smirked. "Maybe we have good connections, managed to pull some strings." Moore replied, taking a swig from his beer bottle.

"Or maybe you just stole it because you are feeling over confident from drinking?" I suggested.

Malarkey waved his hand. "Details, details. You getting on or what?" Malarkey patted the seat behind Moore giving me a mischievous smile.

"Give me a beer and I will." Malarkey reached down into the side car and pulled out a beer. Taking it from him, I bit the lid of easily, impressing the two of them by the looks on their faces. It was lukewarm but no less satisfying. I walked over to the bike and swung my leg over, wrapping one arm around Moore. "You best not get me killed, Moore."

He started the engine and revved it dramatically. "Wouldn't dream of it Duch."

We sped off in the opposite direction of the mess hall but I guess the guys wanted to make the most of the bike while they had it, especially if they were going to get into trouble for taking it. We whipped round the country roads, laughing, joking and drinking. We looped round and were finally heading in the direction of the mess hall when a truck came barrelling towards us. Moore was too busy talking to Malarkey to notice.

"Moore, get your head out of your arse!" I yelled, causing him to swerve at the last minute. Our eyes flitted to one another and we burst out laughing. We were still laughing when we pulled up outside the mess hall, the three of us climbing off the bike, leaving the keys still in the bike.

"God that was a close one!" Malarkey laughed, passing his bottle of beer to Moore.

"Nah, missed it by a mile." Moore assured, draining the beer bottle.

We made it into the mess hall just as Smokey was limping up to the front. Moore and Malarkey ran off to get food like a pair of rabid dogs while I looked round for Tab. I found him sat next to Liebgott, one table back from Bill, Luz and Toye. His back was to me as he was talking to someone across the table so I made my way over to him, returning people's 'hello's' with a smile. When I got to him I got him in a headlock ruffling his perfectly styled hair.

"Hey… what the fuck." He complained, tugging on my arm so that I was pulled in front of him. "Duch." He beamed at me pulling me in for a hug that squeezed the air right out of me. "I missed you."

"Yeah, I missed you too." I told him with a smile. When he let me go I punched him hard in the arm, making him groan. "And that was for kissing me."

He grinned cheekily at me. "Still worth it."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You my friend are desperate."

"Geez." Malarkey started as he walked past with Moore. "Give the guy a break, he just got back from the hospital."

"Kiss my arse Malark." I bit back, smiling as I did so.

He and Moore made Liebgott shove up so that they could take the remaining two seats at the table. "Is that an invitation?" Malarkey teased, earning himself an eye roll.

"Hey Hoobler, be quiet for the man!" I heard Muck order from the next table over.

"The Night of the Bayonet." Smokey started, leaning on his crutch. The room murmured with good humour as I looked to Tab to see him blush. "The night was filled with dark and cold, when sergeant Talbert, the story's told…"

"I don't like this." Tab moaned.

"Good." I muttered.

He turned his head to me. "Did you have something to do with this?"

I smiled widely. "Who do you think gave Smokey the idea?"

I dodged his hands that were aiming for my bum and landed on the empty seat next to Luz. Next to Luz was Muck and next to him was Johnny. Opposite was Bill, Perconte and Toye. Literally everyone was dress in their official uniforms except for me.

"It was nice to get the memo of us dressing up." I complained, taking the mug sat in front of Bill and drinking from it. Bill and I were the only people who took our coffee black with a shit load of sugar.

"You were working." Perconte shrugged, giving a reason as to why I wasn't told or a reason as to why it didn't matter I wasn't dressed like everyone else, I'm not sure.

"Has he left yet?" Toye asked, his eyes on Smokey despite him talking to me.

I shook my head. "No, I said bye though because I probably wasn't going to see him before he does." I kept my voice void of emotion, fearing if I showed even the slightest amount, I would break down and admit how much I didn't want to be away from him.

I noticed a copper coloured head behind us and nudged Bill with my foot to get his attention. "See the ginger kid behind you?"

Bill turned round and looked a Babe in a way that was painfully obvious. I rolled my eyes but didn't say anything because Babe was too busy talking to Hashey and Garcia to notice. "Yeah, what about him?"

"He is from South Philly."

Bill stared at me like I was going to continue talking. "And?"

"So you have something in common. He seems nice." Bill gave me a derisive look. "Come on, speak to him. For me." I gave him a smile that I hoped would be irresistible to him.

He sighed. "Fine."

Just as we finished talking Babe started to stand up and ready himself to leave. "Here's your chance." I told Bill, smiling at Babe as he caught my eye and then turning away so that it didn't look like I had facilitated the meet. My attention was grabbed by Winters, Nix, Harry, Buck and Lip all congregating together and my interest was instantly peaked.

Babe and Bill were getting into a conversation so I decided to head on over to the officers. "Hey Babe, you can have my seat." I told him as I got up and started to walk away.

As I got closer to the officers I could hear that they were whispering to one another, not to disturb Smokey who had finished his poem and was onto another topic. "Hey, what's going on?" I asked the group of men.

Winters sighed. "Word's just come in from regiment. We're being shipped out again, no going back to England."

"I knew this was going to happen." I muttered. "When do we ship out?"

"Tomorrow. Tonight's training is cancelled so that they can pack up and rest." Nix chipped in, looking none too happy himself.

"So, who's going to make the announcement?" Harry asked while everyone else began to clap as Smokey handed Tab one of his purple hearts.

I could see Lip ready to say he'd do it but I cut him off. "I will."

Winters nodded. "Ok, well we need to go plan so I'm leaving you and Lipton to organise everyone. I'll send a supplies list down as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir." Lip and I said at the same time. The officers gave us grim smiles before leaving the mess hall. The guys were laughing at something Tab had said, I looked round at their happy and relaxed faces knowing that was all going to change. "Best get this over with."

"You sure you don't want me to do it?" Lip offered but I shook my head. He gave me a small smile and patted me on the back.

I stood up and walked to where Smokey had been standing moments before. "Right, you lot, listen up!" As the room started to hush up, my eyes darted around the smiling faces. I was catapulted back to Toccoa when I had been too afraid to talk in front of a group of people and my friends were all there for me and now it wasn't even an issue. "Firstly, tonight's training exercise scheduled for 2200 hours is cancelled." The guys hollered and cheered but I quietened them down quickly, it seemed cruel. "Secondly, all passes are revoked. We're moving out fellas so pack up, we are moving out tomorrow at 0700 hours. Any of you who have not made a will, especially you replacements, go to the supplies officer to make one. We will not be returning to England."

The room was silent, no one looking at each other because otherwise everyone would see the fear that was in their eyes. It was there for everyone, the fear. For the replacements it was the fear of the unknown, the Toccoa men it was the fear of the known. We had only fifteen days respite from the horrors of war and that was not nearly long enough to fix the damage already made from the death and decay we saw.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! I need reviews to write, it really fuels my fire!**

_27__th__ August, 1944. Aldbourne, England_

"I can't believe we were pushed from pillar to post for so sodding long." I complained for the umpteenth time since we had got the news we were being shipped back to Aldbourne.

In reality, it hadn't been that long. A little over a month of waiting on airfields to jump into new territory and every time the mission being cancelled. It had been a nerve racking time because each time we got orders we would get nervous and scared about what was to come. I was crabbier than everyone else because I could have been spending that time with my family rather than writing ridiculous amounts of paperwork and keeping watch over basically already healed soldiers. It was boring. I was now in the queue with Liebgott and Luz to find out where we would be staying now that we were back in Aldbourne though this was pointless because everyone was basically being put in the same house as last time.

"Someone is in a bad mood." Liebgott murmured, gaining himself a glare from me.

"You know what I am. I am knackered cause guess who had to do a night shift, then a long day and then a night shift at the hospital? Me! Because the rota was fucked up, the only piece of paperwork that I'm not in charge of and it gets fucked up." The sound of me complaining was even annoying me at this point but I couldn't stop.

"God, someone get some tea in the girl so she'll shut up." Luz pleaded, managing to make me crack a small smile. "Come on, you get to see your grandparents. Cheer up."

"Fine." I mumbled. We were finally at the front of the line where Nix stood just like last time we were in Aldbourne. I gave him a fake smile. "Let me guess, I'm with Miss Smith?"

Nix looked at me, seemingly a little shocked at the crabby tone of my voice. "No actually you are with the Millard's."

I sighed. "Don't fuck with me Nix, I'm not in the mood."

Nix chuckled, apparently finding my foul mood humorous. "I'm not, Speirs got the billeting office to swap your names. He's in with Miss Smith, you're with your grandparents."

Instantly my mood picked up. Not only was I in with my grandparents but Ron was here. Not having seen a glimpse of him in a month when I had become used to seeing him every day had been difficult and that unsettled feeling had lingered. "Nix you have just become my second favourite person for the day."

"No prizes for guessing whose number one." Luz muttered to Liebgott who started to laugh, attempting to turn it into a cough when he saw the look I was sending him.

"Right, I'm off." I told them not even waiting for a reply before leaving in the direction of my home.

It didn't take me long to get there and I didn't bother to knock this time, I was too desperate to get a hug from my Nan or Grandad.

"Nan?!" I yelled, dropping my pack in the hallway and walking into the kitchen which was where she was most likely to be. "Grandad?!" Not seeing Nan in the kitchen I looked into the back garden, with the nice weather this was the next most likely location. They weren't there either which was odd. What was even odder was that I didn't have a little fur ball tripping me up while I walked. "Archie?!"

At this point I heard a thudding coming from the staircase and sure enough Archie came running up to me, wagging his tail erratically and jumping up me. I crouched down and started to fuss him, while he tickled my face with his beard. "Hey buddy."

"That ruddy dog, I swear if our Red didn't love him so much he would be out on his ear!" I heard my Nan muttering, her voice getting louder as she got to the bottom of the stairs. I stood up from Archie and rushed at her, pulling her into a hug the minute she hit the bottom step. There was a slight pause between me initiating the hug and her hugging me back so I guessed she hadn't heard me shouting for her. She smelt of home and comfort, I didn't want to let go in case it was just a dream and I would wake up in a dank foxhole.

"Oh, sweetheart. It's alright." She comforted, brushing her hand over my ill kept hair. When we let each other go, she cupped my face in her hands. "You are like a stick insect, are they feeding you at all?" A little laugh broke free of my lips. "Sit and I will make you something to eat."

I went and sat at the kitchen table, pulling Archie onto my lap when he attempted to jump up. "Nan, where's Grandad?" I asked, not hearing his footsteps at all. "Is he at the pub?"

"No, dear." She set a sandwich down in front of me along with an empty mug for me to fill with tea from the pot. "There's something I need to tell you." I instantly stilled, the sandwich halfway to my mouth. "Your Grandad isn't well, he's bedridden at the moment."

You know those moments in life that send your world hurtling into shit, this was one of those moments. My grandparents had never been seriously ill in the past but I was more than aware that they were getting progressively older yet I still saw them as invincible, that if I willed it hard enough they would always be able to stay with me.

"What's wrong with him?" I felt my bottom lip quiver.

"They say it's cancer in his lungs, he can't breathe if he's moving too much, that's why the doctors have ordered him to stay in bed." Her tone was calming, like a doctor's would be if he was delivering bad news to someone. I could see in my Nan's eyes that she had come to terms with my Grandad's prognosis but still held hope that he would be ok. It must be bad if he had actually agreed to stay in bed, he had always been an active man, going for long walks or gardening and now he couldn't do anything.

"Are they giving him treatment, what's the plan?" Along with my lip my voice was now quivering. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

My Nan placed her hands on top of mine and I grasped it like a lifeline. "There is a treatment offered in London but with the hospitals being full of injured soldiers and the wounded from the bombings, the waiting list is long."

"But you're going to go aren't you? When his name comes up, you have to go." My voice was childishly desperate.

Nan patted my hand. "Of course we will." She reassured.

I stood up from my seat, Archie falling from my lap but he managed to land on his feet. "I want to see him."

"He was going to try and sleep when I left, so I think we should let him rest." She told me softly.

I rubbed my hands together and started pacing. "Yeah, rest." I muttered. I didn't know anything about cancer. I knew impact wounds, internal bleeding, debris lodged in skin. Basically if someone was bleeding I knew what to. If they had an infection because they had been bleeding, I knew what to do. A deadly illness like cancer, I drew up a blank and that was scaring me.

"Why didn't you tell me in one of your letters?" I asked, wondering why I had been kept out of the loop.

Nan gave me a weak smile. "We didn't want to worry you. You needed to focus on yourself."

I suddenly felt like there wasn't enough air in the room, like I was going to pass out. "I'm going for a walk Nan. I'll be back soon." I left the house without waiting to see what she would say.

There were soldiers everywhere, some of them saluting me as they walked past. I nodded to them and tried to fill my lungs with air but they were seriously protesting. Opposite my house was a field with a brick wall surrounding it so I went and sat on that to calm myself down. Not only was my Grandad my rock, he was also my Nan's. If he died and I was still at war, what was to become of her?

"Someone looks to be in a pensive mood." I heard behind me. I already knew who it was but twisted slightly to send them a sad smile. Ron came over to me, limping only slightly. My happiness in seeing him was greatly overshadowed by the sadness I was feeling, yet I wanted to seek refuge in his arms but thought wiser of it considering all the soldiers about. He sat on the wall facing the opposite direction to me so that we could face each other easier. "I'm sorry about your Grandfather."

My head jerked to the side to look at him. "You knew and didn't think to tell me?"

He didn't flinch or react in any way to my tone, apparently expecting my reaction. "Irene asked me not to, for your own sake I agreed."

I nodded, showing that I understood why he did it. We sat in silence for a while before I decided to use his good company to vent. "I feel helpless." I almost whispered. He didn't say anything but I knew he had heard me. "I'm a nurse for fucks sake, yet I don't have a clue about what he needs or what could be done."

"You being around him while you can will be enough, no one expects you to perform a miracle." Ron told me, placing a hand on top of mine and rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. His hands were massive compared to mine and calloused but they were still incredibly soothing.

"What about when I'm not here, then what? My Nan is the only one here to look after him and it's not like she's in her prime. What's going to happen?" I sounded pathetic, picking everything apart.

Ron gave me a look so hard that it stopped me from carrying on talking. "Nothing is ever going to be perfect. You could quit the army, leave the men and be with your Grandfather despite the fact that that won't cure him. Or you could stay in the army, doing the thing you love like the little psychopath you are and what makes your Grandfather so proud of you he rarely talks about anything else."

I couldn't help but smile, not only at the fact that my Grandad was proud of me but also because of Ron saying I was a psychopath, it was just funny. "I'd never leave the army while the war was going on, that's if they would even let me leave."

Ron gave a soft laugh. "Well, if they knew what was best for Easy they wouldn't let you leave."

"It's true, they would be hopelessly lost without me." I told him with a cocky smirk that was entirely false. "How's the leg?" I asked, wanting to change the conversation.

He nodded. "Alright. I've only started walking without crutches this week but the limp will be gone soon."

I gave a small smile. "Anyone would think you were desperate to get back to fighting."

"If you were injured you would be the exact same, it's frustrating." He nudged me with his shoulder. "Your Nan's coming."

I swung my legs over the wall so I was sat facing the same way Ron was and waited for my Nan to come over. For some reason I was in no rush to speak to her, I couldn't help but feel a little betrayed that she hadn't told me sooner. Knowing what my mood would be like, she averted her attention to Ron rather than me.

"Afternoon, Ron dear." She smiled sweetly.

"Good afternoon." He returned with a pleasant smile of his own.

"Terrence told me to remind you about your card game tomorrow if you are still up for it."

Ron nodded. "I'm always up for a game of cards with a worthy opponent." He sent a glance to me with a small smirk.

I raised my eyebrows. "Was that you suggesting that I'm shit at cards?" His increasing smirk was answer enough. I just glowered at him in response.

"She's always been a sore loser Ron, I wouldn't take it to heart." Nan chipped in with a cheeky smile of her own.

"Well this is just blatant bullying now." I complained, kicking Ron in the shin lightly who chuckled in response.

"Katie, your Grandad's up and is asking for you." Nan told me with a small smile. Panic welled up inside me, wondering if he was going to look withered and ill and not at all like the Grandad in all of my memories. My eyes clashed with Ron's, wanting reassurance from him as he had obviously been spending time with him. Rather than smiling, he gave me a hard look that was wholly reassuring in the strangest of ways especially when coupled with the little nod he gave me. I slid of the wall, ready to go back to the house when a runner came up to us. As always I knew he was a runner because of how tiny he was not to mention the fact he was too put together to be a soldier who had just come from travelling from France.

"Lieutenant Millard, Lieutenant Winters wishes to see you." He told me.

Why do all runners have such irritating voices, I thought to myself before flicking my eyes to my Nan. Obviously I wanted nothing more than to see my Grandfather but I couldn't refuse my CO. I went to open my mouth to say this but Ron interrupted.

"Don't worry about it. I've been meaning to go see Nix and no doubt he's with Winters so I'll let him know what's happening." He told me, getting of the wall and readying himself to walk off.

"But sir, Lieutenant Winters said…" The runner began, his voice hopelessly self-important. Ron sent a single look in his direction and he visibly paled and let his sentence tail off.

I looked to Ron. "Thank you and thank you for swapping housing with me."

The only response I got was a small smile and that look that I could never decipher what it meant. Ron stalked off, is gait full of power, with the runner on his heels.

I looked back to my Nan who had been stood there quietly, waiting until I could leave. She had a cheesy smile on her face, telling me she had made up some scenario in her head. "What you thinking about now?" I asked, walking towards the house with her falling into step next to me.

"That man cares about you a great deal." She told me in a wise voice.

I shrugged but blushed despite me trying to act nonchalant. "We're friends, what would you expect?"

Nan looked incredibly smug. "Whatever you say, dear." By this point we were back at the house and I made my way up the stairs. I could hear slightly laboured breathing coming from my grandparent's room with the door being slightly ajar.

I knocked on the door lightly and heard a shaky 'come in'. I pushed the door the rest of the way open to finally see my Grandad, sat upright on a pile of pillows as if he was waiting for a breakfast tray. Some anxiety left me when I laid eyes on him, seeing that he looked like he always had only a little bit thinner. The rising and falling of his chest, however, was accompanied by a wheezing sound. I looked to his face and saw that he was beaming at me.

"Red." He breathed, looking so happy to see me that it bought a tear to my eye.

"Hey Grandad." I replied, trying to keep the shake out of me voice but failed miserably. He motioned me over where the arm chair from the living room had been bought up and placed next to the bed obviously for Nan to keep him company but there was no way she would have been able to manoeuvre it up the stairs. "How on earth did this get up here?" I muttered as I settled into it, finding myself close enough to be able to hold his hand.

"Ron bought it up for us." Grandad squeezed my hand. "You should find a man like him to marry."

I rolled my eyes to avert attention from the blush that I knew would appear on my cheeks. "I thought we decided that we'd stop talking about me getting married after you set me up with Tommy Landen."

Grandad chuckled, the exertion making him cough slightly which in turn made my eyebrows pinch together is worry but he only shook his head at my concern. "You decided we weren't going to talk about you getting married anymore, I didn't agree."

"Forget about marriage, it's not happening for a good long while. Onto the real matter at hand, how are you feeling?" I almost hadn't asked the question for fear of the answer.

"I'm fine sweetheart as long as I'm in bed." He answered with another reassuring squeeze to my hand.

"Really, you're not in any pain because I can get you some pain meds if you need them." He shook his head in answer. "And which doctor has been assigned to you?"

"Dr Phillips." His simple reply was accompanied with an eye roll of his own. I really did take after him.

"Good because Dr Andrews doesn't know his arse from his elbow. I would have hated to have to start threatening the local doctors."

Grandad laughed gently. "Andrews is already scared of you after you punched him when he was trying to give you your vaccinations."

I shrugged. "I told him to get away from me, I could have done them better."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just happy to be in each other's company. If people didn't know he had cancer it would be easy to believe he just had a bit of a chest infection, he looked fine but I didn't want to imagine what he was like up and about. It must be bad if he was ordered to stay in bed.

"You can talk about it if you need to." Grandad said softly.

I frowned a little. "Talk about what?"

"About the things you saw."

Images flittered through my head of dead bodies, merciless killings, blood, torn flesh, charred skin. All things that could change a person yet, like every other person who was fighting in the war, I had to just carry on like it hadn't. I shook my head in answer, not wanting to think of those things let alone speak about them.

"You don't have to though it might help. You just need to know that I'm here to talk to." He gave my hand a squeeze along with a look of understanding.

With uncomfortable tears welling in my eyes I decided to change the conversation. "So, Mr Paulson still won't dig up his garden?" This lead my Grandad onto a rant. We sat talking and laughing for an hour, seeing that his disposition was the same as it always had reassured me to no end.

The bedroom door was pushed open and Nan came waking in with a tray with tea and cake on it. She set it down on the bed before going to sit alongside of it. "Nan you sit here, I need to go see Winters anyway."

"Let's hope they give you some time off this time, you need fattening up and rest." Nan looked me up and down, probably working out what to feed me with first. Her eyes landed on my neck and she gasped. "Katie Louise Millard what on earth is that on the side of your neck."

My hand flew to my neck, touching the scar that I knew was there. "I fell into a tree and the branch cut me, it was really nothing." I assured her, deciding at that point to make sure she didn't see the scar on my arm or the patch of skin that was a little scarred on my thigh.

"Red, only you would be at war and fall in a tree." Grandad chuckled. I kissed his cheek with a smile and squeezed my Nan's shoulder as I left, feeling a whole lot better than when I had walked into the room.

Ten minutes later I was knocking on the door to Winters new office which proudly stated him to be CO of Easy. There was a call to come in and I entered to see Winters sat behind a desk with Nix in the seat opposite.

"Sir, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." I apologised.

Winters waved his hand. "Speirs explained everything. I'm sorry to hear about your Grandfather."

"Yeah, me too." Nix added with a small smile.

"Thanks. Anyway, did you want to see me to tell me I have the time off to relax and go to the pub and only have to deal with any of Easy's injuries?" I pleaded, knowing this was not going to be the case.

Winters gave me a small smile, telling me he was amused. "Well, I've got some good news and some bad news."

I went at sat on the arm of Nix's chair. "I'll be optimistic and have the good news first."

"First of all after this week you get Sundays off while we are here and are going to be gun trained and have a weapon officially assigned to you." Winters pushed a pile of files forward and nodded towards them. "The bad news is that there are nurses and chaplains that are being shipped out to field hospitals and aide stations that need the bare essentials of combat training and you are in charge of their medic training."

I was about to interrupt him myself but Nix beat me to it. "Nurses need medic training? Surely they are already trained, that's why they are nurses." I nodded along with Nix's complaint.

"I agree but it has been thought that they would benefit from training in first response and high pressure situations like you are used to Katie."

I rolled my eyes. "Basically they need to be taught to use their heads first and how to make difficult decisions."

Winters nodded. "And the chaplains are just having training like all other personal has as a just in case. There is also a town full of child evacuees that need medical exams. All medics will be helping as most of the doctors have been drafted but as you are one of the most senior medics, your presence is required."

"And let me guess, I'm in charge of all the paperwork for both of these things." Winters sent me a sheepish look which confirmed my guess. "I hate paperwork." I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face.

"Who doesn't?" Nix griped, taking a swig of his canteen and holding it out to me which I took gratefully and swigged it down.

"Since I became a nurse in the army, I swear I've done more paperwork and training than I have actual nursing. It's not really what I had in mind." I complained, leaning back on my precarious seat so that my shoulder was up against Nix's and he was my support.

Winters gave me one of his small smiles while Nix patted my thigh. "It's what happens to the best. Look at Winters, he's stuck behind a desk and look at me, I'm not allowed into proper combat. We are too useful."

I couldn't help but laugh. "That was going so well until you bigged yourself up." I ruffled Nix's hair and received a good humoured glare. "Well, I best get to it then."

I picked up the mound of paperwork that was on Winters desk and went to leave, calling my goodbyes to the two of them. Along with all the paperwork, assessments and training I had to give it didn't look like I was going to have much time to sleep let alone spend time with friends and family.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Band of Brothers, only the character of Katie Millard. I mean no disrespect to the real men of Easy Company, these characters are based on those from the TV series.**

**I don't have much knowledge of army etiquette and am trying my hardest but if there are any mistakes my apologies. Also if there are any historical mistakes my apologies again but I have taken some artistic license. Some events may also be far fetched but hey this a fan fiction so when aren't they?**

**Please review! I would love to know what people think! I need reviews to write, it really fuels my fire!**

_6__th__ September, 1944, Aldbourne England_

The noise of children in the room next to me was annoying, I never realised I didn't really like children until I had been stuck in a church hall with twenty of them, but the noise of my pen scratching against paper was annoying me even more. I was going stir crazy in the office they had put me in that was about the size of a cupboard. There were piles of paperwork all around me and if I looked up for too long I would probably start to cry at the amount there was. I just had to keep in mind that tomorrow was my day off where I could sleep late and spend time with my grandad.

The door to my cupboard creaked open, amplifying the noise of the rowdy kids, but I couldn't see who it was due to the mound of files around me "Duch, you in here?" The person asked, the accent alone telling me it was either Bill or Babe.

"Yeah, I'm at the desk." I called back at them. A copper coloured head of hair came into view before they came to lean up against the desk. I looked up from the paperwork for a second to smile at them. "What d'you want Babe?" Babe had quickly become a well-established member of the group thanks to Bill and the fact he was just good company. His replacement friends, however, were still not fitting in so well.

"I have been instructed to persuade you to come to the pub tonight." He told me, picking up a file and flicking through it.

I snatched it back off him and smacked his arm with it. "That's confidential and you know it." He only grinned in response. "I'm surprised they sent you, they usually send Luz, king of persuasion."

Babe shrugged. "Yeah well, Bill believes that my boyish charm might work."

I smiled and began nibbling on the end of my pen. "Bill said you have boyish charm?"

"No, but that's what I decided to take from the conversation we had."

I burst out laughing which made him smile broadly. "Come on then persuade me buddy boy." I turned back to my work and started writing, waiting for him to begin pleading his case.

"Well first of all you've hardly seen any of since we got here and you know how much you love spending time with us." he began

I scoffed. "Really? That's your first point?"

"Hold up, I'm starting with the least persuasive point." He coughed theatrically before continuing. "Secondly, we are willing to buy all your drinks for the night."

I nodded. "Keep talking."

"And we bought you a dress." He finished.

I slapped my pen on the table. "You all did what? Everyone knows I hate wearing dresses."

He held his hand up in surrender. "Hey, it wasn't my idea! We all just chipped in the cash."

"Whose idea was it?" I demanded.

Babe smirked. "Now that is confidential and you know it." He teased, repeating my words from earlier. "It's more of a challenge to be fair. No one thinks you will wear it so see it as proving everyone wrong."

I rolled my eyes. "God, I swear if it's slutty in any way, you can fucking wear it."

Babe shook his head quickly. "It's not, it's totally classy." He promised.

I could do with a night of fun and I hadn't seen anyone since we got here over a week ago. It might actually be nice to dress up as a girl for once. "Fine, I'll come but if anyone makes fun of me they are getting a punch, you hear?"

Babe nodded. "No one would expect anything different. You nearly done for the day, we can leave together if you are."

I looked at the file in front of me and the stack next to me. "This pile can wait till Monday I suppose. I'll just finish this one and I'll be out."

"I'll be outside then." He nodded to me before leaving, shutting out the infernal childish noise.

A dress, I was going to wear a fucking dress to prove some childish point. Well, that was part of the reason. I also wanted to see Ron's reaction to me wearing a dress and I just hoped it was as strong as my reaction whenever I saw him in the official dress. We had seen each other in passing a couple of times and had been nothing but pleasant as well as playing a game of cards with my grandad. I couldn't help but miss what it was like before we decided to just be friends, when there was passion even if it came out as anger and heated conversations. I wanted that back. As I finished the file I decided that if I was going to wear a dress I might as well go the whole hog and do my hair and makeup. I closed the file and put it onto the 'done' pile which was significantly smaller than the 'to do' pile. I groaned as I left, wishing the weekend would never end. If I wasn't doing boring paperwork or examining annoying kids, I was lecturing God freaks or brainless nurses. The nurses were the worst by far, interrupting my lectures with asinine questions or full blown asking whether any of the male soldiers were single. I had lost my temper at one and made her cry.

Leaving the office and locking it behind me because otherwise one of the snotty kids would go in and mess everything up like they did the last time, I was greeted by the sight of Babe Heffron with crying girl on one hip and another girl who was red with anger yelling at him. I recognised the angry girl from the day before and her name was Lacey, and both the girls were about eight.

"She took my dolly!" Lacey yelled, pointing at the girl on Babe's hip.

"So you hit her?" He questioned.

"She deserved it!"

I quickly rushed over before Babe could reply again. "Woah, woah, woah, Lacey what seems to be the problem here?" I asked in a calm voice, squatting down to speak to her.

Her bottom lip was shaking as she tried to stop herself from crying. "This girl took my doll and when I told her to give it back she said no so I hit her."

The girl on Babe's hip started crying louder and Babe tried to get her to quieten down, looking quite competent. "Where'd you hit her?"

"The arm." She answered honestly, that's something you couldn't fault her, at least she was honest.

"Wait here." I stood up and looked at the other girls arm, seeing a small red mark but nothing bad enough to warrant all the noise. "Hush up now." I ordered, stunning her into silence with my stern voice. "Next time, ask before taking something of someone else's and then you won't get hurt." I lifted her under the arms, taking her off a surprised looking Babe's hip. "Now go find your guardian and sit with them till the doctor is ready to see you." The girl scuttled off, sniffling to herself a little. I turned back to Lacey, crouching down to talk to her again. "Look, you don't hit people, it just gets you into trouble. What should you have done rather than hitting?"

Lacey's chin was firmly tucked against her chest by this point. "Told a grown up."

I nodded. "That's right, told an adult. That way you wouldn't have been stood with Private Babe about to tell you off." I looked to the left to see a doll, probably the one the dispute started over, picked it up and gave it to Lacey. "Now go play and be good." She ran off in the opposite direction to the other girl, seemingly happy now. I stood back up feeling ridiculous having to deal with naughty children.

"Jesus Duch, never imagined you to be the type to be good with kids." Babe told me.

I laughed. "You call that good with kids? I just don't like them so I find it easy to tell them off." I looked up at him with a smirk. "And look at you getting dragged in by the baby blue eyes. I swear that little girl is probably a demon but gets away with it."

Babe threw his arm over my shoulder and started walking me towards the exit. "You are a cold hearted woman, you know that. She was sobbing her eyes out."

I rolled my eyes. "She shouldn't have took Lacey's doll then should she?"

I drove the jeep back to Aldbourne, not needing the map to get back as I knew the roads like the back of my hand. I dropped Babe at his house before parking the jeep in the lot with the rest of them and walking back to my grandparent's house. I hadn't even been jumped up by Archie before Nan accosted me in the hallway.

"A young man dropped off a dress for you." She told me excitedly. "I put it in your room."

I leant back to put some space between us. "Hello to you too."

I veered round her and walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat before starting to get ready. "Is he your boyfriend?" she enquired excitedly. My Nan never looked or acted younger than when there was a prospect of a man in my life.

I started making myself a sandwich. "Despite me not knowing who 'he' is I can confidently say no."

"He was called Joe Toye and boy was he handsome." She giggled like a young school girl. "So what is the dress for?"

"The pub. They all knew it was gonna take something pretty big to get me to come when I am so tired but they are smart enough to know I can never back out of proving a point." I told her, sitting down and beginning to eat.

"Let me guess, the point to prove is that you will wear a dress." Nan poured me a cup of tea.

"Two years I've known them and they have never seen me in a dress. The closest they've got is my PT gear."

"Good for you, even if it is just to prove a point it will be nice for you to dress up."

After finishing my sandwich I went to get in the shower, taking the time to shave my legs. Once out, I put greater effort into putting my hair in order before letting it dry itself and covered myself in lotion before dressing in pyjamas. While my hair dried I sat with my grandad playing a game of cards and doing the crossword with him. When it had finally dried, I sat in front of my vanity and clipped back the frizzy curls at the front until it was in a half up/half down style with the defined, sleek curls on display. I put on a little eyeliner to make my blue eyes seem lighter, concealer on the bags under my eyes and some mascara before painting my lips a dark red which made my skin look like it was made of porcelain. I got out my nicest underwear set, red with black lace and a matching garter, and put those on before finding my only pair of stockings which had no holes in and slid those on and attached them to the garter. I had ignored the dress bag that was hanging on my wardrobe up until this point. I reached it down and unzipped the bag, sliding it off the hanger to be very pleasantly surprised by what I found. I had expected something red to be honest, a gaudy red not like my underwear set but instead the dress was black. I slid it over my head carefully to avoid messing up my makeup and hair, slipping only the only pair of black heels I owned that were plain but stylish before looking in the mirror. I smiled at what I saw. The dress was a wrap around style which showed a small amount of cleavage so that it was tempting yet classy, hugging my waist and behind, falling to my knees along with three quarter sleeves. I loved it but it wasn't complete. I looked in my jewellery box to find the only thing that I owned of my mothers, a silver necklace with a small four leaf clover charm on it. I used to wear it all the time before the war but had decided to leave it here rather than risk losing it. Once that was around my neck I felt ready to leave the house.

I picked up my purse filling it with money, keys and lipstick and I attempted to walk in my heels. I made it down the hall with some difficulty. I knocked on my grandad's door to show him my outfit. He called me in and I hobbled in.

"Wow, Red." He breathed, his eyes filling with tears. He had always been an emotional man, my grandad, whether I looked nice or got good grades on school work he usually cried.

"Why are you crying? Do I really look that bad?" I sat myself down and grabbed his hand.

He wiped his eyes, trying to smile through them. "Last time I saw you dressed like this was five years ago. You were all arms and legs, your hair never stayed put and you still had a few spots but now…" he trailed off not finishing his sentence but I assumed whatever he was going to say was good. "You are making me so proud Katie, so proud." His voice was shaking with emotion and I couldn't help but fill up myself.

I caught the tears at the corners of my eyes as to not ruin my makeup. "That's all I want, is to make you proud."

He nodded quickly. Our moment ended by Nan barging through the door. "Katie, two men are here…you look amazing!" She interrupted herself when she caught sight of me, surprising both me and grandad.

"Nan, breathe." I told her, standing up from the bed and making sure my dress had fallen back into place. I smiled warmly at her. "But thank you."

"I don't know how you do it, go from looking like a man to a real lady." She looked like she was welling up at this point so I decided to end it there.

"Right, I'm off then." I bent to kiss grandad on the cheek and did the same to my Nan.

As I walked out the room I heard my Nan shouting from behind me. "Drink wine for once dear, no beer!"

I laughed as I reached the bottom of the stairs where I was greeted by two loud intakes of breath. I had been focusing on my feet to make sure I wouldn't fall but now I looked up to see Tab and Liebgott stood in the kitchen. Tab was crouched down fussing Archie and he stood slowly while staring at me. Both of them were dressed in their official uniforms like they always were when they went to the pub.

"I'm gonna take that reaction as that you like the dress?" I asked, slightly cautious at the way they would react. Making my Nan and Grandad think I was pretty was one thing, they thought I was pretty when I had just got back from the stables when I was sweaty and had helmet hair, but my friends was another.

"It's not just the dress I like, it's the whole package." Tab drawled which made me laugh and blush in equal parts. Liebgott was still just staring, apparently shocked I could look like this.

"Yeah, well, seeing as you came to get me you are now in charge of making sure I don't fall on my arse tonight." I told them, wobbling my way over.

"That I think we can do." Liebgott finally spoke, holding his arm out for me to take.

I slid my arm into his. "By the way, Babe wouldn't spill the beans so you two need to tell me whose idea this was."

Liebgott just looked in the opposite direction to me as we walked out the door, signalling his silence. Tab was quickly on my other side, taking my free arm in his. "That would be telling. Plus why does it matter? You look happy enough."

"That look is painted on." I joked making them both laugh slightly. "I just need a little retribution." They both stayed silent, smirking as we walked along. "If you tell me I'll point out the nurses that are interested in you."

"It was Bill." The said in unison, desperate for nurse attention.

"I knew it!" I instantly started plotting my revenge, nothing too severe seeing as it was a nice dress but enough.

The rest of the short walk to the pub was filled with laughter. The three of us walked in arm in arm, into the room that smelt like beer, whiskey and smoke, the smell of my teenage years. It was filled with paratroopers and nurses spotted with a few locals buying the men drinks. It was loud, with music blaring and people shouting orders to the bartenders. I pointed out a nurse for each of them to talk to who they had a shot with before Liebgott went to the bar to get us drinks, keeping to the promise of free drinks, leaving me with Tab.

When we got to the middle of the room, a voice called from behind us. "Hey, Tab! Who's the lovely piece on your arm?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I turned round to face Malarkey who was stood next to Skip and Bull. "Really, you couldn't recognise me at all?"

Malarkey turned an adorable shade of red while the other two looked shocked. "Can't blame a guy Duch. You look different." Skip explained, scratching the back of his head as if he was confused.

"Forget different. You look pretty, sugar." Bull smiled down at me.

I felt myself blush. "Thanks Bull." I sighed heavily catching sight of Bill in the corner. "And you have that jackass to thank for it."

I unthreaded my arm from Tab's and made to leave. "Where you going?" he asked.

I smiled evilly. "To get revenge."

I spotted the nurse I was looking for by the bar, she was sending sideways glances to Bill. I went and stood next to her, making friendly eye contact before letting my dormant girly instincts kick in. "Oh my goodness your shoes are lovely." I gasped, pressing a hand to my heart.

She did the same action back. "Oh aren't you sweet." She simpered, making me want to gag. Her eyes lit up with recognition. "I think you gave me a lecture the other day, Lieutenant Millard?"

I supressed an eye roll, I was the only female lecturer, I think she would remember if she had been taught by me. "I think I might have, sorry but I can't quite remember your name."

"Tiffany." she held out her perfectly manicured hand for me to shake.

"Please, call me Katie." I returned her smile and handshake. "To be honest it's nice to be around some girls for once, as I much as I love the men nothing replaces girl time."

"I always knew women couldn't be in the army like you are, you need other women around otherwise you'll go insane." She laughed this annoying tinkling noise.

I gave a fake laugh. "Come on then, save me from insanity. Who have you got your eye on?"

She looked over her shoulder coyly, eyes trained on Bill. "Him, the one with the jaw."

"I did training with him, we are in the same company." I told her with a small smile.

"Do you think you could set us up?" she asked excitedly, sending a smile over her shoulder.

I pulled a face. "I could but I don't think you'd want me to do that." I patted her on the arm when she gave me a puzzled look. "Being the nurse of the company I have access to all the soldiers' files." I leant forward to whisper to her in the ear. "He had crabs." She leant back looking disgusted while I nodded. "I say _had_ the treatment was prescribed but with him going into combat who knows if he kept up with treatment."

"That's disgusting." She gasped.

I nodded, throwing in a pitying look for good measure. "Yeah, it is. Anyway it was nice talking to you."

I left her stood by the bar, no doubt disappointed that her eye candy was supposedly riddled with trouser wildlife. I walked to the table that Easy Company was crowded around, including Bill, taking the drink that Liebgott was holding out to me. Whiskey, he knew me well. There were some wolf whistles and hoots from the men who had yet to see me and I felt myself blush.

"All right simmer down, simmer down." I told them all flapping my hands in a 'quieten down' motion.

"I do think we out did ourselves this time boys." Luz announced, nudging Toye in the arm.

"Hip hip to us." Toye muttered with a little smirk.

"Pull up a seat, Duch." Bill told me, standing me up and ushering me into the seat between him and Toye.

"Wait, before you sit." I told him once I was sat down. "That nurse over there fancies you so strike while the irons hot."

He was gone so fast it was like he was a blur. "So, Babe was telling us about…" Toye started but I cut him off.

"Shhhhh." I was trying to lip read Bill's and Tiffany's conversation that was about to begin. She had already shuffled away from him when he had stood next to her by the bar.

"What?" Toye asked looking a little shocked at my reaction to him trying to talk to me. A smirk appeared on my face when Bill began talking to Tiffany who stepped further back from him when he leaned forward.

"Uh-oh, that is one evil smile. What you been up to?" Luz must have leaned over the table form his seat to talk to me, I could only assume this as my eyes were still on the pair.

"Plotting revenge." My smile grew to face splitting lengths as Bill made his way back over to the table, looking sulky. "What happened?" I asked, a sympathetic look plastered on my face as he sat back in his seat.

"She said that she didn't want to get involved with anyone due to the high amount of venereal diseases floating about." Bill finished the last of his beer in one gulp while I tried to hide my giggling. "How weird is that for a girl to come out with?" At this point Toye and Luz started sending me glances and it didn't take long for Bill to notice. "She also said I should get myself checked… Duchess what did you do?" he demanded which sent me into peals of laughter.

"Did you tell her Bill had some sort of VD?" Luz asked, beginning to laugh again. I managed a shaky nod through my laughs which sent Luz and Toye into laughter.

"Right then…" Bill slammed his glass on the table but I knew he wasn't mad because of the sparkle in his eyes. He reached out and started tickling my ribs that sent me into hysterics, struggling to get away. "Apologise."

"Nee-never…ok fine!" I managed to get out between my laughs so that Bill would stop. "I'm sorry that she thinks you have crabs." I gave him an innocent look that was in the end completely overshadowed by me continuing to smirk and Luz and Toye basically wetting themselves laughing.

"You are so evil, Duch." Bill told me, cracking a smile.

I flicked my hair off my shoulder in a dramatic manner. "I know. Thank you all for the dress by the way." I turned back to Toye. "What were you about to say before I shushed you?"

"Babe told us all about that kid in the town hall." He told me with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "I fucking hate kids. Why are they so sticky all the time?" I had already finished my first tumbler of whiskey and so flicked it into the centre of the table only to have another full tumbler pushed back to me by Tab which earned him a big smile.

Liebgott laughed into his drink. "Aren't women supposed to have some sort of motherly instinct?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Mine must have been replaced with how to use a gun and wanting to join the army."

"She is right though." Luz agreed. "I'm one of the eldest and all the young ones were always sticky, it's like they attract dirt too."

We continued talking for a while about random shit when Babe came rushing over from the bar looking excited. "Duchess, you're needed at the bar." He told me, practically shoving Bill out of his seat so I could get out.

"Why on earth would they need me at the bar?" I questioned but followed anyway due to being simply swept up in Babe's excitement.

"Ernie told us about your party trick."

Upon hearing this I tried to make my way back to my original seat. "No way Babe, I'm not doing that." I protested but another pair of hands appeared behind me which, once I'd turned round to see who it was, belonged to Buck and pushed me forward towards the bar while Babe pulled.

"Come on, don't be such a spoil sport." Buck teased. I continued protesting as they managed to get me to the front of the bar where Ernie was giving me a wicked smile. "Up you go." Buck commanded, before he lifted me by the waist onto the bar easily. The tall ceiling allowed me enough space to stand upright and of course everyone's eyes turned on me instantly.

I felt myself begin to blush. "Let me the hell down Buck Compton." I ordered, attempting to step down but he just held his arms up to keep me there.

Something nudged my thigh from down below and looked to see that Ernie was holding the yard of ale for me to take. "Finish that like you used to and everyone gets a round on the house." Ernie shouted so that everyone could hear him. The room cheered loudly and it would have been more embarrassing to refuse in front of everyone than to just do it.

"You all are a bunch of bastards!" I yelled back, taking the yard of ale which caused everyone to cheer again. I was raising it to my mouth when I noticed the door opening and my eyes flicked to who it was. It was Ron, looking oh so handsome in his official uniform. He looked bemused as to why I was on the bar and my only answer was a small smile and shrug.

I slid my necklace to the back of my neck before lifting the huge glass vile to my mouth. I started to gulp down the ale while twisting it slightly on each mouthful, slowly tipping it further and further back. I didn't spill a drop and as I got closer to the end, cheers got louder along with shouts of 'come on Duch' from those in Easy. Finally I had finished it to the applause of my audience, handing the vile back to Ernie and taking a cheerful curtsey. I looked for Buck who had been previously at my feet but he was no longer in sight. A hand shot out from the crowd so I accepted it gratefully, jumping down from the bar and landing surprisingly gracefully on my feet.

I looked up to see my helper was Nix who was giving me a cheeky grin. "I've seen you do some impressive things but I think that tops them all."

I shook my head. "It's not that impressive seeing as I've been doing it since I was fifteen."

He reached around my neck and rectified my necklace with a small smile. "And who am I to thank for getting you in a dress?"

"Wild Bill is the instigator but I'm to believe the rest of them chipped in." I told him. "Where's Winters tonight?"

"You know him, he's a stickler for rules and has a report due in tomorrow." He explained while trying to get his cigarette to light but for some reason was having great difficulty.

I took the cigarette and lighter off him a lit it for him before handing it back. "For the amount that you guys smoke I'm forever having to help you light your smokes." I laughed.

Grant suddenly appeared by my shoulder. He bowed slightly and held his arm out to me. "May I have this dance, Miss?" He asked politely with a saucy wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Why, good sir, I think you may." I replied in an equally formal way, looping my arm with his. I turned back to Nix and smiled. "Have a good night."

Dancing with an American was quite different from dancing with a British man, they were so much more energetic and free with their movements. I was swung all over the place dancing with Grant and then Liebgott and then Malarkey and even Doc Roe asked for a dance before I finished with Tab.

I was having trouble breathing when the dance finally ended from the quick pace of the song and laughing so much. I landed myself in a seat in amongst Bill, Babe, Toye, Liebgott, Luz and Buck with Tab standing behind my seat.

"I'll tell you something boys, there is something greatly attractive about a man who can dance." I told them, taking Bucks whiskey from him with a mischievous wink before taking a sip.

"Oh yeah. Do tell us what else in attractive in a man." Bill asked, his eyes twinkling with drink and laughter.

I laughed lightly and let forward with my elbows on the table. "Depends on the man." At this everyone leant forward in apparent interest which made me smile lightly, the alcohol was definitely getting to me at this point.

"Does that mean you find something attractive in each of us?" Liebgott piped up, the usual pink tinge to his cheeks due to the drink.

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm not doing this. The last thing you lot need is someone boosting your egos." I told them all. There were noisy protests made from everyone, all made in good fun, until I blushed and agreed. "Fine, fine you nosey gits."

I looked around the group who were staring at me, waiting to see what I would say first. I found all of them attractive in their own way but I did just see all of them as close friends, some of them as family. My eyes landed on Toye who was playing with his lighter so I decided to start with him.

"Toye, your voice is amazing, you could be talking about the dirt and I'd still want to listen." I told him honestly, watching as he stopped playing with his lighter to listen intently. "Bill, your jaw is so sharp any girl lucky enough to kiss you is going to be cut by it. Luz you have the cutest little smile going, melt any girl's heart. Buck, your eyes, enough said. Liebgott, it's all about your swagger, anyone can tell that you've got enough confidence for two. Babe, it's the fact you have such a baby face yet the minute you open your mouth anyone can tell you're a hard arse, it's the shock of the difference if you get what I mean. And finally Tab, you're just a pretty boy to boot." I finished by reaching up and tapping him on his cheek, feeling him grin into my hand. I wasn't particularly embarrassed by admitting all this because I wasn't saying I fancied them, just that they all had attractive qualities.

"I'll get you another drink, Duch." Tab told me, patting my shoulder.

I smiled after him which prompted Buck, who was sat next to me to start talking. "When you smile your nose wrinkles up." He said simply, taking his tumbler of whiskey back off me.

I frowned at him. "Thanks?" I offered, slightly confused and not knowing how I was meant to respond. I couldn't tell if it was a compliment or something he thought I should change.

Buck looked at my face and laughed. "It was supposed to be taken as a compliment. It's cute as hell when you do it." He explained.

I could feel myself beginning to blush so decided to change the conversation. "Anyone for a game of darts." I suggested, standing and rushing over to the empty board before anyone could reply. Soon enough teams were established and a game already played.

I looked over to the bar to see if Tab was any closer to the front of the scrum to get served to have myself knocked out of my slight alcohol induced haze by the sight of a beautiful woman hanging all over Ron. She was stunning with her perfectly styled hair and sun kissed skin, she had wrapped herself around Ron's arm and leant into him to whisper into his ear in a seductive manner. Although he was seemingly not encouraging or even being particularly welcoming of her attentions, he was not pushing her away in the slightest. A surge of jealousy was bought to the forefront as well as almost instant acceptance of it. Of course he would prefer her attention to mine, I was not a patch on her in the slightest.

"Hey, Duchess, you ok?" Toye had appeared by my side, cupping my shoulder in a comforting way.

I tore my eyes away from the distressing sight to Toye. If he knew what I had be staring at he made no indication of it. I gave him a small nod and pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead, it was suddenly too noisy in the pub and not enough air. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna go though."

He turned round and got my bag for me off of the table. "I'll walk you home."

I smiled my thanks and started towards the door, enjoying the cold hair hitting my face once I was outside. I quickly made my way over to the brick wall opposite the pub, bracing my hands against it. I felt weight added to my shoulders and not only in the metaphorical sense. I looked to see that Toye had draped his blazer over my shoulders.

I smiled at him the best I could, pushing my arms through the sleeves. "Well aren't you a gentleman."

"You going to tell me what's wrong?" Toye asked softly in his gruff tone.

I turned from the wall and began walking in the direction of home, Toye in step next to me. I couldn't tell him what was really wrong so I decided to tell a version of it. "Do you ever think about regrets?"

Toye gave me a puzzled look. "I try not to in times like this, with the war."

I nodded. "I think that's why I worry so much about being regretful. I mean most women my age are off finding themselves a husband, someone who can support them. I've spent my glory years trying to get into the army."

Toye chuckled. "I think any guy in Easy would get on his knees and propose if you gave them half the chance."

I shook my head, not believing the statement in the slightest. "I dunno, I just worry that I'm going to regret things at some point. I definitely don't regret meeting you lot, definitely don't regret all the help I've given but I've probably given up an awful lot to do it."

Toye shrugged. "Not meaning to sound harsh but everyone has given up a lot because of this war. It's what needs to be done."

I grasped his hand and smiled at him. "I'm wallowing aren't I?" I got a smile in response. "I swear alcohol makes me so needy."

Toye chuckled and we continued to walk hand in hand. Neither of us made any attempt to talk but I could feel that he wanted to say something. Toye wasn't really much of a talker at the best of times but I could sense that this was different.

"Something on your mind?"

He pulled us to a stop, taking a step in front so that he could look at me properly. He was watching me with an intensity I had only saw a number of times. His hands found my waist and pulled me into him, his lips brushing mine lightly and when I didn't pull away (firstly out of shock and then comfort), a little firmer. His lips were soft, unhurried, so unlike any other kiss I had had. I kissed him back in the same way, just liking the fact that someone else wanted to kiss me, wanting to forget what I had saw. Problem was, Toye's kiss wasn't urgent enough, passionate enough. He was being too gentlemanly, trying to keep it slow, being too tentative in his approach, nothing like how I thought the toughest of the tough would kiss. In the end I turned my head away from his, breaking the contact of our lips. I rested my head against his chest and took a deep breath, feeling like absolute shit.

"Corporal Toye." A stern voice barked from behind us.

I had never moved so fast in my life to put some distance between me and Toye who had quickly bought himself to attention. I turned around to face the owner of the voice, already knowing who it was.

"Lieutenant Speirs." Toye saluted, a small red twinge to his cheeks. I was terrified as to what was going to play out, feeling my hands clench together into tight fists of instant anxiety along with a wave a pure anger about that woman who had been all over Ron.

Ron looked so livid, his eyes seemed to be pulsating with hatred towards Toye yet he was completely ignoring me. "I believe it's against army protocol for lower ranking soldiers to be harassing their superiors."

"He wasn't…" I started to defend Toye, feeling that it wasn't at all fair for him to be punished for this especially under the guise that it was harassment.

"I will get to you." Ron snapped in a venomous tone, cutting me off completely without even looking at me. He took a step towards Toye, being outright intimidating despite the fact that they were basically the same size. "You are supposed to show your superior officers nothing short of the utmost respect. You could get yourself into a lot of trouble acting in this manner, understood?" His statement was a blatant threat.

"Hold up…"

"Yes sir, I understand." It was Toye who cut me off this time, keeping his tone respectfully blank which was the complete opposite of my pissed off one.

Ron smirked this twisted smirk that I hoped to never see again. "If I find you _anywhere_ near her like that again a court martial would be that last thing you'd be worried about after I'm done with you."

That was it, I snapped. I quickly shoved Toye's jacket off and held it out to him. "Go back to the pub Toye." I ordered, needing him to be out of the way for when this argument no doubt went down.

"Are you…" he begin to ask but I stopped him.

I gave him a look that I hoped conveyed that I really need him to leave. "Now, please."

He sighed heavily, obviously not happy about leaving but reached out and took the jacket and left, smart enough to not turn back. I found myself glaring at Ron, never having been more annoyed and angry at him than now and that was saying something considering we had spent half the time knowing each other pissed off. I was so angry I was tempted to leave this as it was but I felt I needed some retribution for the way he was acting. My frustration was only heightened when I realised Ron was busy looking my body up and down appreciatively. This frustrated me because it distracted me from what I was angry about.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I bit out. If I had a pound for every time I had asked him this, I would be rich.

"I think it would be fairly obvious what my problem is. If any other superior had caught you in that position, there would be repercussions."

I scoffed. "Oh, please. I'm not dumb or deaf, you threatened him bodily harm, why would you do that?"

He didn't answer for a beat before frowning. "Why were you kissing him anyway?" he demanded, obviously deflecting away from my question.

I pointed at him sternly. "Don't you dare turn this around on me. I'm not the one acting like a mental patient."

"Why did you leave the pub, anyway?" he asked, taking a step towards me. "You were having a great time and then you disappeared."

My eyebrows puckered. "How did you know I was having fun? You seemed…busy." I realised I had stuck my foot in it, I shouldn't have let on I'd seen him with what's her face. Neither of us were answering the other's questions, neither of us wanted to give anything away.

Another step was took towards me and now we were close enough that it would look like two people who were more than friends, my body started to buzz with excitement. "I'll answer yours if you answer mine." He promised, his eyes searching mine.

Wanting nothing more than to hear his answers, I decided to relent. "I was kissing him for no other reason than just because he was there. He's my friend and I didn't want to push him away. I left the pub because I saw something I didn't like." Ok, so maybe I was skirting round the truth a bit but I didn't want to give everything away.

"What did you see?" he questioned but he only got a raised eyebrow in response. I had given everything I was going to until I got some answers of my own. "I threatened him with bodily harm because if you got caught you would be kicked out of the army and it would be entirely his fault." He took another step forward, so close to me now that I had to crane my neck to look into his eyes and so that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. I shivered in awareness as to how close we were, my hand coming up and fiddling with my necklace in a slightly nervous gesture. "And I knew that you were having fun because I was watching you, just like I always am when you're near. I can't keep my eyes off of you." His voice was deep and husky but not at all embarrassed at what he was saying.

I melted a little hearing him say that, I'm surprised there wasn't just a puddle where I was stood. Seeing as he'd gone all out with the honesty I decided to as well. "I saw that woman all over you and got jealous and upset and instantly felt like shit and so left." I took a deep breath before continuing. "And seeing as that we are on a roll with honesty, I didn't want to kiss Toye really, the only person I want to be kissing is you…"

There was more to my little speech but I was cut off abruptly by his lips on mine. One of his hands quickly found my waist, pulling me closer until the remaining space between us was gone, his other threading itself in my hair, tugging my head back until it was at a more acceptable angle. There was no preamble, no coaching to the kiss, his tongue just immediately plunged into my mouth, tangling with my own. It was heavy and passionate as he seemed to be making up for lost time.

My fingers fisted the coarse material of his uniform, desperately pulling him even closer to me, going up on my tip toes. The hand in my hair flexed repeatedly, fisting my hair one moment to make my scalp burn with arousal, to releasing it the next. I was dumb to have said 'let's just be friends' because the feeling when we were together was just too perfect, we moulded well together. I felt relief like I hadn't felt in months being in his arms while pleasurable tension coiled in the pit of my stomach.

The hand left my hair to join its partner on my waist and I could feel Ron slowing the kiss down to end it, there was no way I was going to let that happen, he would only talk and probably say something to ruin this or I would. To stop this from happening I swung my arms around his neck, keeping his mouth fused to mine and becoming more aggressive to prove that I was more than a willing participant. I felt his lips stretch into a smirk against my own before resuming the kiss with the same vigour as before.

Ron pushed on my waist before starting to walk forward, me just following his lead. My back soon hit a hard surface and he crowded me. Both of his hands found the back of my thighs and tugged, easily lifting me so that my legs were wrapped around his waist before leaning into me, keeping me suspended using only his own body weight and the wall. This new position allowed his aroused pole to fall directly onto my centre, making me moan wantonly. With his hands back on my waist, one of his hands slid up to brush the underside of my breast, my thin bra not protecting me from the arousing touch. My back arched, one of my hands tugging softly on his hair. He took my movements as encouragement, moving again to take my whole breast in his palm, kneading it firmly enough that it made me moan into his mouth.

We continued like this until I was writhing, wanting more of his touch elsewhere. The hand manipulating my breast smoothed down my body, dipping into my waist and over my hips until it was at the back of my thigh. At the same time Ron removed his lips from mine after biting my lower lip sharply, earning himself a needy noise from me. He kissed along my jaw, nibbling on a piece of skin just underneath that made me shiver against him before dipping his hand below my skirt, searching for the point that my stockings ended and he could feel my bare thigh. When he reached that point, my breath came out shaky, even more so when his fingers travelled higher. He smoothed his hand over the swell of my behind, squeezing it tightly before moving back down again and moving towards my core.

I was incredibly turned on, my breathing was laboured, I could feel that I was flushed, I was shivering in anticipation, my nipples were hard and I was wet. If he didn't know he had done this to me by that point he would know the moment his fingertips brushed against the centre of my panties. I could feel his quickened breath against my neck. It was finally happening for us.

"Why the fuck did you do it Toye?!" That shout rang out down the street and once my aroused mind focused I knew it was Bill.

My eyes snapped open. "Wait." I whispered. I didn't need to worry about being seen as Ron had backed us into a darkened alleyway. Even in the dark light however I could see that Ron wasn't happy about the interruption but he took his hand off my thigh anyway.

"What?" he murmured back, his voice husky.

"Come on Bill, just leave it." Another voice shouted, one that I easily recognised as Luz's.

"I need to go see what's wrong." I whispered back, my eyes looking out into the street to see if I could see them. Bill sounded angry as hell and the fact that that anger was directed at Toye meant something bad had gone down, the two of them never argued. Ron frowned, his hands tightening on my waist as if he didn't want to let go. I retaliated by pushing on his chest slightly.

"It just fucking happened all right!" Another shout followed by some scuffling and orders from Tab to Liebgott to hold someone back.

"I'm sorry but I need to go." I didn't want to leave Ron but my friends needed me right now. They were drunk and angry about something that would probably be inconsequential in the morning but if any of them hurt each other or got caught fighting there would be trouble.

After a heavy sigh, Ron stepped back from my body, allowing my legs to untangle from around his waist until my feet hit the ground. I shucked my dress back down and made to leave the alley in the opposite direction to the boys to loop around the houses so that it wouldn't look suspicious. My wrist was grasped in a firm grip, stopping me from leaving. I turned to Ron, his eyes heated with arousal and anger.

"I'm coming for you, this isn't over." It was a heated promise, one that I knew he would follow through on but I didn't care right then, I just needed to leave.

"Alright." I replied, a little exasperated that it was taking him so long to let me leave, though I was leaving him to go and help the guy he had caught me kissing earlier on.

He released my wrist with one more forceful look before disappearing into the darkness of the alley that was attached to the one we were stood in. I huffed a breath and started to run, only stopping when the noise of my heels clacking was deafening to take them off, they were hurting anyway. No longer hindered by my shoes, I made quick progress, taking only a minute to get to the guys. What I saw when I got there worried me.

It was the whole group; Liebgott, Luz, Tab, Toye, Bill and Babe. Bill was flushed with what seemed to be a mixture of alcohol and anger, his arms restrained by Liebgott and Babe was providing extra support with a hand on his chest. Tab had a hold on Toye and Luz was stood between them.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked, loud enough for them all to hear but not quite shouting. I continued walking until I was stood next to Luz, not wanting to look as though I was taking anyone's side. Bill and Toye were avoiding my eyes, knowing that whatever the reason for them fighting I was going to scold them for it.

"Thought you went home Duchess." Babe asked, looking apprehensive.

"I was on my way there when I heard some idiots yelling and then I recognised those yells to belong to my idiots." I crossed my arms and stared each of them down. "Well?" Everyone was silent. "Someone best tell me because none of us are leaving here till someone does."

Luz coughed awkwardly. "Bill noticed." He muttered.

I frowned, looking to Bill. "Noticed what?"

"Your lipstick." Bill ground out. His eyes met mine and I was shocked to see that he was mad at me, what could I have done to bother him.

I sighed. "Look, someone spit it out now. I'm fed up of the clues."

"I noticed your lipstick on Toye, doesn't take a genius to work out you two were kissing." Bill's voice was almost venomous and he tried to break out of Babe and Liebgott's hold again to get at Toye but with the two of them, he didn't manage it.

Anxiety swelled in my stomach and I didn't know what to do. I looked to Toye who was still avoiding my eye, instead making eye contact with Tab who gave me an uncomfortable look. "W…w…why?" My voice was shaky, the nerves showing themselves as I couldn't finish my question. I wasn't even sure what I was trying to ask.

"What if you'd got caught? What if an officer had seen?" Bill questioned. I guess Toye hadn't let on that Ron had caught us. "This prick would have got you kicked out of the army." He directed the insult at Toye.

Toye gave a humourless laugh. "Why lie Bill? We all really know why this has got you so wound up." He spat. He seemed drunker than when he had left me a little over 15 minutes before, he must have knocked a number of drinks back in quick succession to be acting like this.

I frowned, completely confused now. "Toye what are you on about?"

"You're a smart girl Duch, figure it out." Liebgott told me, earning himself a direct frown. I rubbed a hand over my forehead, feeling immensely tense. Apparently they all knew something I didn't, something that was apparently blindingly obvious. "He's jealous." Liebgott said slowly, as if he was spelling it out for me.

I couldn't help the little laugh that came out. "Why would he be jealous?" They all just gave me a look that made me just accept what was being implied. Toye liked me as more than a friend and apparently so did Bill. "B…b…but…" I was spluttering completely speechless at the revelation. "How? Why?" My head was flickering between the two of them. "I just don't understand."

"Come on, Duch, it was bound to happen." Luz muttered, staring at his boots.

"I really don't know what to say." I was worried that this was going to make my friendship with the two of them awkward or even worse just end it all together. "It's an awful thing for me to have to say to you but I see you two as my family, I see all of you as my family." I had started playing with my necklace again nervously, I didn't want to hurt their feelings but it had to be said. I looked at the two of them to see they were looking sadly at the floor which in turn made me start to well up with tears. "I'm so sorry if I've lead you on." My voice was shaking with emotion and everyone noticed. Everyone looked at me just in time to see the first tear fall and me wipe it away.

"Oh shit." I heard Toye murmur and it wasn't long before I was engulfed in a group hug. Their anger was forgotten as they wrapped around me as I cried, tears falling unabashed.

"I dunno why you're crying, it's these two sorry bastards who have been let down." Luz muttered, trying to alleviate the tension with humour.

I wiped the tears quickly. "Not the time Luz."

The hug ended but everyone stayed stood close in a circle, all of them giving me pitying looks. I opened my mouth to say something but Tab cut me off. "Why don't we do this in the morning, when we aren't so drunk and tired." He suggested, a smart suggestion really. Alcohol levels and emotions were high, not the best conditions to talk something out.

I nodded silently in agreement. "Just know, you didn't lead anyone on." Bill murmured as if he didn't want the rest of the guys to hear despite them being so close.

"Not in the slightest." Toye assured, patting me on the shoulder.

I nodded, feeling a little broken. "Café tomorrow at 12?" I proposed, giving everyone enough time to sleep off their hangover. Everyone agreed to it and one by one they all gave me a tight hug.

The last to hug me was Babe who whispered in my ear. "I'll talk to Bill, don't you worry." He and Bill were housed together which at that point I was glad for, it meant he wouldn't be alone to potentially wallow.

"Night guys." I murmured, turning and walking back into the alley that I had been in with Ron and padded to my house, still shoeless, feeling emotionally drained and wanting to escape the events in any way possible.

I unlocked the door to the house, closing it silently behind me as to not wake up Nan or Grandad. My stockings were beginning to irritate me to no end, being too tight across the tops of my thighs. I sat down in the kitchen and unclipped them from the suspenders, rolling them down and chucking them in the bin as the soles were incredibly dirty and holey. I sighed heavily, pushing the heel of my hand to my head. There were too many thoughts, too many worries right now. I stood from my seat and dipped to rummage in the pots and pan cupboard earning myself a dirty look from Archie for interrupting his sleep. Finally I found what I was looking for, the bottle of whiskey Grandad had hidden there years ago to try and discourage me from drinking, I would replace it in the morning, I'd get Luz on the hunt for a new bottle.

I took the top off, forgoing a glass and just took a swig from the bottle, barely feeling the burn as it went down. I tiptoed up the stairs, missing the third step all together as that's the one that creaked. I held my ear to my grandparent's room, thankfully hearing two sets of breathing before slipping into my room with my front to the door to control the way it was shut, slowly and silently.

Turning around, surprise ricocheted through me causing my back to hit the door. "How the hell did you get in here?" I whisper shouted across the room to the figure stood at my window.

Ron was stood at my window, jacket, tie and boots gone and his shirt sleeves rolled up with the top button undone. "I said I was coming for you. And I know there's a key hidden in the rose bush." He murmured, making his way over to me. I couldn't help but roll my eyes to try and mask the shiver that went through my body but I didn't have chance to reply. "What was going on then?" His hands slid to my waist, smoothing to my hips and back again. I couldn't help but lean into him.

I shook my head. "I just want to forget about it. Ergo…" I held up the still opened whiskey bottle and took another swig.

Ron took it from me, purposefully brushing his fingers against mine as he did so, and took a drink for himself. "I can think of a better way to forget." He leant down, placing a kiss to my jaw as he placed the whiskey on my bedside table.

I couldn't help the little smile that came, all my thoughts now on him. He did that so easily, took my mind away from everything until it was just me and him. I let my hands rest on his shoulders, the muscles thick beneath my fingers, going up onto my tiptoes to press a gentle, teasing kiss to his lips. I leaned back when he attempted to deepen the kiss, feeling confident either from his persistence to have me or the booze, stepping back from him to grasp the bottom of my dress and pull it over my head. I threw it to the side and sat on the edge of the bed dressed only in my underwear, loving the feeling of his eyes raking over me. I noticed the sizeable tent in his trousers and looked to his eyes seeing them to be filled with heat, making me breathe hitch.

"Make me forget then." My voice was the complete opposite to my actions, sounding timid where it should have sounded confident.

He stood in front of me and placed his hands on either side of my hips on the bed so his head was level with mine. His nose brushed against mine softly, then his lips pressed to mine, my tongue coming out to dip into his mouth. I couldn't get enough of the way he tasted, at the moment it was fine whiskey with a bite of tobacco. My fingers started to fiddle with the buttons of his shirt, wanting to get it off. As I made progress his hands came up to cup the back of my head and neck, starting to topple us over so that I was on my back with him over me. The feel of his weight on top of me was amazing, his hips fitted between mine making me moan into his mouth.

Getting to the end of the buttons, I pulled it free from his trousers and off of his shoulders. His finely chiselled abs and chest were free for me to touch, which I did, dragging my nails down the dips of his muscles making him tense and shiver. I kept my hands moving, reaching for his belt buckle but my progress was hindered when he grabbed my hands and held them above my head. Not understanding him stopping me from taking this a bit further, I frowned and arched upwards, attempting to increase the contact between us. This worked to some extent as he groaned into my mouth, a sexy sound that I wanted to hear more of. He released my wrists to slide his hands down my arms, around my shoulders to un-hook my bra deftly, sliding it free from my body and flinging it over his shoulder to join my discarded dress.

He ended our kiss abruptly, leaning back to gaze down at my breasts. My nipples were already hard but under his intense gaze they tightened further. He pressed an opened mouth kiss to my collarbone, travelling downwards until he reached my left nipple. He encased it in his hot mouth, teasing it with the tip of his tongue. I groaned, my back arching to try and get more of the amazing feeling. In retaliation he bit down before sucking sharply, making me shriek loudly from how surprisingly good it felt, I think by that point anything he did would have felt good. Bed springs squeaked loudly from behind the door, coming from my grandparent's room, followed by a sleepy grunt.

Ron looked up from his position on my chest, his brows furrowing together. We both looked at the door, waiting to see if anyone was moving about still. The last thing we both wanted to happen was one of my grandparents walking in on us. There was no sign of movement for a good few moments so he looked back to me, pushing a finger to his lips in a signal to get me to stay quiet. I nodded, biting my bottom lip and rubbing my hands over his shoulders in an attempt to stop myself from pushing his head down and telling him to get back to it.

He gave me a little look before dipping his head back down again, kissing the valley between my breasts and travelling downwards. I found myself holding my breath with anticipation as his fingers hooked the waistband of my panties, pulling them down as he lowered his kisses. Finally they were free from my body and they joined my other items of clothing. Ron slid his hands to the back of my thighs as he landed the last few kissed below my belly button, lifting my thighs so that my centre was fully open to him. His eyes dropped to the flesh he had just exposed, licking his lips at the sight in front of him. He let his head drop, sliding the flat of his tongue from my weeping centre to my engorged clit, sucking it deep into his mouth the pleasure causing me to slap my hand over my mouth to muffle my cry of pleasure. Rather than being perturbed by my loudness and the fact my grandparents were feet away from us, it seemed to spur him on. He continued to suck, lick, tease and nibble at my flesh until there was a ball of tension in my stomach that couldn't be released until something more happened.

One hand was still covering my mouth but the other was firmly anchored in his hair. "Ron…" I keened, my hips lifting to try and get more of a sensation. Ron placed an arm heavily over my lower stomach to stop me from moving. His other hand moved around as he latched his lips around my clit, to push two fingers slowly but deeply inside of me. That alone sent me over the edge, the coil of tension broke. My limbs seemed to gain a mind of their own as they twitched and the hand over my mouth wasn't enough to keep me quiet.

When my eyes decided to flutter open after the powerful sensations had ended, I found myself eye to eye with Ron, who was looking at me hard, his eyes flicking across my facial features.

"You get the most beautiful look on your face when you let go." He half whispered to me, leaning back and beginning to unbuckle his belt. "A look that I need to see at least once more before the night is over."

I couldn't help but blush at his words but left him to discard his trousers to reach into my bedside table and fetch a prophylactic. I all but threw it at him in a desperate need to get him to hurry up, he was moving much too slow for my liking. Despite my hastiness, Ron seemed intent on making me _look_ at him. This intention was made clear by his slow movements and he knew I wouldn't be able to resist if I had the chance. He really was the epitome of what people imagined when they thought of a soldier. Muscular, lethal, manly, mouth-watering, and oh my he was well equipped.

"Will you just hurry up." I snapped, without even meaning to. I was tempted to put my hand over my mouth once the sentence was out my mouth but refrained.

Ron gave me a look, it was a look that completely summed him up. It managed to be cocky, hard and self-assured all in one. "Is someone eager?" he teased, positioning himself back over me, moving my legs until they were linked behind his back. His hot flesh brushed my centre causing me to bite my bottom lip but he seemed to be holding back from entering me.

I shifted a little to see if that would help but he just added more weight on top of me to keep me still. He gripped my chin in a tight and assertive way. "Answer the question." He murmured, brushing his lips against my jaw.

"Of course I'm eager. I've been waiting for this basically since we met." I told him truthfully. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to meet my lips. I kissed him hard, tilting my hips up to him.

Thankfully he took the hint, pressing against me and sliding himself into me. I gasped, the feeling of being filled by him being utterly amazing. Our lips broke apart as I tilted my head back, curling my fingers into his shoulder. Once he was finally seated in me, his pelvis pushed fully against me I opened my eyes and looked at him.

I'd never been looked at like how Ron was looking at me in that moment. I didn't know what it was but I was looking at him in wonder. He was such a brave and strong and beautiful person and for that moment he was mine.

"You feel so fucking good." He groaned. He started thrusting in and out, starting slow, and making my skin flush with heat.

I was wrapped round him, my legs clinging onto him, my arms grabbing at him. I was getting louder and louder, that feeling of tension returning. "Oh, Ron." I moaned, kissing along his shoulder.

At the sound of his name, whatever restraint he was holding onto seemingly broke. He thrusted into me, hard, so that my breasts bounced and the air was knocked out of me. He did it again, this time I managed to keep my wind and I moaned loudly. He clamped his hand over my mouth, not willing to stop his vigorous fucking because I couldn't keep quiet. It wasn't long before the tension in my stomach broke and I was shaking around him, my inner muscles clamping down on him like crazy. This pushed him over the edge, his teeth sinking into my neck as he came, keeping himself quiet.

We lay panting, sticky with sweat, still wrapped around each other. He was looking down at me again, that same look in his eyes as before, more intense if possible. And I panicked.

The thing I loved most in this world after my family was the men of Easy. I cared about them and their safety. If I was kicked out of the army for my relationship with Ron then I couldn't look after them and that thought scared me, but it wasn't just that. My feelings for Ron were developing quickly and I couldn't have that. I couldn't get hurt again, I couldn't get my heart broken, I just couldn't cope.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I think you should go now." I whispered, managing to push t weight to the side and roll him off me. I quickly got my robe and put it on, covering up my sex flushed skin.

He looked at me, confused. "Sorry?"

I shook my head. "You should leave. No one can catch you here." I tell him, picking up his clothes from the floor and handing them to him. He looked angry, furious even, and quickly put on his clothes.

He went towards the door but then stopped to turn back and look at me. He fixed me with a stare, it was burning with so many emotions, opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but changed his mind, shaking his head almost in disgust before leaving.

I crawled into bed still naked, feeling drained, physically and emotionally, wanting nothing more for him to still be here for me into cuddle into but instead I was alone with a whiskey bottle and it was all my fault.


End file.
